


ToP Arc - Relationships

by SmallFluffyFox



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-11-17 22:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18107450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallFluffyFox/pseuds/SmallFluffyFox
Summary: Finally at the Tournament of Power arc in my story.I've been wanting so bad to start writing this since the episodes first aired. But now I'm finally getting started and I'm really excited.This arc will definitely be a little more better than the other ones I wrote. At least in my opinion.I'm proud of the Zamasu arc, but this one I feel will be more interesting.





	1. Chapter 1

Shin closed the book in his hands.

"No matter how many times I read this, I never cease to be impressed." Shin complimented.

"Yes, I must agree. It is quite a read. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it." Kibito agreed.

"Eh." Elder Kai said somewhat lazily. We ignored Elder Kai's remark.

"Thanks, you two. I appreciate the kind words." I said.

The four of us were enjoying nice cups of tea. I'd only come to visit for a short while, though. But the nice, quiet time we were enjoying was about to take a dark turn. No thanks to a certain orange gi wearing Saiyan.

"You have a very creative way with words. They seem to flow smoothly and make you feel completely enrapt in the story." Shin went on. I felt my cheeks grow slightly warm.

"D-do you really think-" A sudden closing in set of energies caught my attention. Three very familiar energies.

"Ohh no! What do they want NOW!?" I whined as I got up from my seat. Just in that second, they landed. The Kai's all got up to greet our visitors.

"Gentleman. Has something else happened?" Shin asked.

"First, I will have some tea." Beerus demanded. My body tensed up.

"How bout a face full of my foot instead!? Try having a little more respect for you fellow God!" I shouted. Beerus just looked away. Kibito complied anyway and served the Destruction God the tea he ordered.

 

~*~

 

Beerus sipped the tea and looked to have finally relaxed.

"I hope that's had a calming effect on your mood, my Lord." Whis said.

"I suppose you could say that." He replied.

I damn well hope so.

In that second, a sudden being made his appearance.

"Gentlemen. Madam."

"Grand Minister to the Omni King!!" Shin, Elder Kai, Kibito, and Beerus exclaimed in unison. The four of them ran forward and bowed.

"We are humbled sire!" They said in unison. I stared up in awe.

"This is the Grand Minister…?" I asked.

"Yep!" Goku answered. I'd heard some things about him from Shin and even Gowasu, but meeting him in person was a whole different experience. He gave off this vibe that made you want to respect him.

"Oh, Goku. Thank you for your help earlier. You cured the Omni King's boredom and the tournament details have been decided." The Grand Minister said.

"Great, man! Let's hear it!" Goku replied joyfully.

"Bow down, you nincompoop! And don't call him 'man'!" Elder Kai scolded.

"Don't worry, it's quite alright." The Grand Minister assured with a small laugh hidden in his voice. He then pulled out a scroll and unfolded it.

"I will now read the joint royal decree of their majesties, the Omni Kings. On day three billion, one hundred thirty five million, five hundred thousand, six hundred and three of the royal calender, at precisely one fifty seven o' clock, the Tournament of Power shall commence in all its glory. Ten warriors from each universe shall engage in epic combat." The Grand Minister announced.

"The Tournament of Power, huh? Aww, yes!! My hearts really pumping now!" Goku shouted excitedly.

"That's strange…" I muttered to myself. I didn't remember anything like this when I was in Other World. I must have been busy with something at the time. Or… maybe some kind of imbalance has occurred. I wonder what happened. I should have been made aware of something like this when I was in Other World. Something this big. Why am I just finding out about this now? I should have seen this coming and expected it. So then why…?

"Azaelia? Hey, Azaelia!"

"Huh? Yes?"

"Are you alright? You don't look all that excited for this. I thought you liked fighting too." Goku said.

"I do. This tournament sounds like it's gonna be fun. But… Sorry, it's nothing. Just ignore me." I assured everyone. I then turned to the Grand Minister.

"So... U-uhm. Where exactly is this tournament taking place?" I asked.

"A special place called the Null realm." The Grand Minister answered.

"The Null realm…?" Goku asked in curious awe.

"It's an infinite emptiness. Where not even time and space exists." Beerus explained. Woah... Scary.

"Since literally nothing is in the Null realm, there's nothing to break. Thus, you'll be free to fight as vigorously as you'd like. Also, as with the tournament you held between the Sixth and the Seventh, the ultimate champion of our competition will be awarded the Super Dragonballs, which will grant whatever wish is desired. They have already been gathered in preparation of this grand event." The Grand Minister informed. Shin raised his head.

"E-excuse me. And what prize does the champion's home universe receive?" Shin asked. The Grand Minister smiled down at him.

"They go on." He replied.

"What? Like-. Go on stage?" Beerus asked.

"No, no. They get to go on as before." The Grand Minister answered.

"Wait, how's that a prize? I'm confused." Goku complained. The Grand Minister let out what sounded like a sigh.

"You're jumping the gun. Grand Zeno intended for this announcement to come later, but due to your friendship with the Omni King, Goku, I guess I'll make an exception. It is a prize by it's contrast. For the universes that don't win shall be eliminated." The Grand Minister informed. I gasped and drew my hands over my mouth.

Why!? Is he serious!? Why the hell can't I remember any of this!? Something must have happened to throw everything off. Or maybe…

Shin suddenly calling out my name brought me back to reality for a second to realize that I was on the floor now.

Even if I just simply couldn't remember, then it means that our universe would be okay. We continued living on for at least a million years or so. But then that meant… the other universes. Universe Six and Ten… not to mention the others.

"Goku, there's one more thing. The Omni King has a favor to ask of you in the meantime." I heard the Grand Minister say.

"What's the favor?" Goku asked.

"A show. He'd like to have some fighters from the Seventh, yourself included, going up against champions from the Nineth. Think of it as a warm up act before the main show begins. You see the Grand Zeno from the alternate future timeline did not have the opportunity to witness your matches against Universe Six. Thus he's a bit behind. What's needed is a demonstration. Our Omni King wants to bring his counterpart up to speed and build excitement for them both for the upcoming tournament proper. To that end, we'd like you to take part in these run up matches, which we are calling: The Zeno Expo." The Grand Minister explained.

"A fight before the fights? Really?" Shin questioned. I didn't realize how close he'd gotten to me. Hearing his voice thankfully soothed me a little.

"Sounds great! So? Who am I going to take on?" Goku asked confidently.

"Well, that remains to be seen. But as I said, it will be someone from the Nineth. You have exactly one hour from now to gather two other worthy participants. Then present yourselves at Grand Zeno's palace. See you then." The Grand Minister said before floating up into the sky and disappearing. After he was gone, Beerus fell to his knees and sighed in relief.

"That's odd. Why'd they choose Universe Nine?" Shin asked.

"I agree. That's an intriguing question, sir. But I would say that's the least of our concerns at the moment." Kibito said. He had a point.

"So three of us get to fight in this one. Hey, Azaelia! You gonna join in on this one, right?" Goku asked joyfully.

"Goku, I don't think she's fit for a fight right now." Shin said sternly. There was even a faint hint of annoyance. Beerus then got to his feet and got in Goku's face.

"How can you be so gleeful about his, Saiyan!? You're hopeless." He then pulled away and folded his arms.

"Do you have any comprehension of what this stunt you pulled is going to do to the cosmos? Just because you wanted a workout." Beerus complained as Shin helped me up. Goku was confused by his statement.

"He's right. Imagine for a moment if the whole Seventh Universe is plucked from existence." Shin said. I could see his body tense up.

"I could never forgive myself… And now all of the universes face the same threat." Shin added. My forehead wrinkled.

"Wait, so-… Should I… go ask Zeni NOT to pluck the Seventh Universe and obliterate it from existence?" Goku asked.

"Though your intentions are good, I must advise against that. The Omni King's and Grand Minister are amiable, but they don't like descent. If you criticize their plan, they might destroy our universe to save a point." Whis said. Great.

"Gah! That's terrible! What do we do?" Goku asked.

"You're a bit late realizing that now. And don't think your so called friendship with the Grand Zeno's will save you, Goku. You are a temporary play thing. A bobble to be cast aside. If you lose, they won't hesitate to obliterate you. Along with the rest of the Seventh." Beerus said. Great!

"I know, I know. But I didn't expect it to turn out like this! This is insane!" Goku replied. Yeah, no shit.

"That's irrelevant! You'll still pay the price!" Beerus shouted.

"Hey, what price!?" Goku exclaimed. He then slapped his face with both his hands.

"Fine! I don't care who I fight! All I know is I have to win this tournament! No matter what!" Goku declared.

"Indeed. As awful as this is, we have no choice but to play along. First we need to build the team for this Expo, then we can worry about finding all ten for the tournament after that." Elder Kai said.

"Right! Azaelia, do you think you're up to fighting right now?" Goku asked. I didn't look up.

"Um… Maybe. I don't know. I have someone in mind for the Expo, though. We're going to need his help for the tournament and I want him to at least get an idea of what we're going to be doing. I'll let you decide who the other fighter is going to be." I replied. I then turned to Shin.

"Would you mind taking me home? I wanna go see Papa." I said.

"Of course. A-are you going to be alright?" He asked. He was always such a considerate person. It's just who he was. I smiled sweetly.

"Yes. Don't worry about me." I replied.

 

~*~

 

After getting back to Earth, I talked with Papa and Mr. Satan about the Expo. I didn't give too many details. Just the fact that we needed Papa to fight with us. Hercule boasted about his strength and asked if we needed HIS help. I gently let him down and said we only needed Papa. Papa happily agreed. Afterwards, we met up with Goku and headed back to the Supreme Kai planet, along with Gohan as the third fighter.

"This was the best you could do?" Beerus asked. He had a bored, unimpressed look on his face.

"Uh, hi… Lord Beerus." Gohan greeted nervously.

"Don't mind him, Gohan. He just missed his hourly nap." I said passive aggressively. Beerus caught my comment.

"Puh! So tell me again why you're not participating in the Expo?" Beerus asked. I let out a soft groan.

"It's because I want Papa to understand what we're going to be dealing with. You really need to pay attention more." I replied. Beerus just groaned grumpily and turned away.

"Well! Let's not keep the Omni King waiting." Shin said. We all formed a circle, making sure we were all holding on to each other. I stood between Papa and Gohan.

"Kai Kai!" Shin said. We were instantly taken to the entrance of Grand Zeno's palace. I looked up in awe and assessed every part of the building.

"Wow…! It's so much more different than what I had imagined. I like it, though. It's unique!" I commented.

We entered and walked through the hall.

I was the one to make sure Papa didn't do anything out of line. He had the personality of an adorable child, but that's exactly why I had to watch over him. He didn't understand how a lot of things worked so having someone to teach him was important.

We eventually got to our destination and found the warriors of Universe Nine, along with its Supreme Kai, God of Destruction, and Angel.

"Ah. Noble gentleman of the Nineth. It's been too long." Shin greeted coolly. I felt a small tingle go up my back. How can he be so sweet yet totally cool at the same time?

Goku and Gohan took notice to the three werewolf like beings.

Our two universes continued ahead and met up with the Grand Minister. He then took us to where the Expo would take place. There were suddenly a ton of different energies around us.

Our Universe Seven was in its own personal area. I took a look around to find Universe Nine across from us in its own little cozy, floating, watching platform.

The Grand Minister floated down and held his arms up.

"Gathered dieties, please come down! Join us!" The Grand Minister requested. A few other platforms then floated down. It was pretty amazing to see them all in person.

Champa and Vados were here. And even Gowasu!

"All twelve universe's Supreme Kai's and Destroyers. Angels too. What a truly rare assembly." Whis commented. I casually waved up at Gowasu. He smiled and waved back.

Goku was less discreet.

"Yo! Hey, Champa! How's it goin man!?" Goku greeted happily as he waved.

"Excuse me, Goku! I'm afraid I must insist on silence." The Grand Minister scolded. I sighed.

"Oh, Goku…" I said quietly. Goku just laughed.

The Grand Minister explained why we were all here and then gave an introduction to the Omni King's.

"You humble us with your presence." The Grand Minister said before bowing. Everyone else in the room bowed too.

"Hey, Zeni!! It's me! Over here! Hiii!!" Goku suddenly shouted. He then flew over to the Omni King's and rested an arm on one of their throne chairs. He tried starting a conversation with them, but didn't get far. Beerus quickly shot Goku back down to our observing platform before apologizing to the Grand Zeno's.

I ran over to Goku and put him in a head lock.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? You damn idiot! I get that you're supposedly friends, but this isn't the time or place!!" I shouted.

"Ow ow ow! Okay, alright, I'm sorry! Uncle! Uncle!!" Goku cried out. I let go of him and let Beerus give him an extra scolding. I could hear the disapproving whispers from the other universes. Great. Goku was gonna drag us down with him. I had no idea where he got this dumb behavior from. I would have guessed Bardock, but even he wasn't this idiotic.

The Grand Minister quieted the other universes and introduced Goku as the one who was responsible for keeping the idea of a tournament with every universe going. Goku then told everyone how this came about.

The Grand Zeno's lowered themselves to Goku's height to excitedly ask him to show them some good fights. After Goku assured them that they'd get to see some good fights, the Grand Minister explained the rules of the Expo. The Supreme Kai of the Nineth interrupted to ask what the superior universe of this Expo would receive. The Grand Minister replied by saying that this was only a demonstration and that no one would be getting a prize.

Now that I was getting the chance to really look at them, these Supreme Kai didn't really look all that impressive. They either looked super snobby or just plain… "unattractive", to put it nicely. Although the same could be said for Elder Kai and maybe even Kibito. Elder Kai was definitely ugly, but I could see how people would think Kibito is snobbish. He had the look, but it was entirely the opposite. Kibito had insecurities and always saw himself as unfit or unworthy. That's how I knew he'd make an amazing Supreme Kai.

I smiled up at him. He was the first person I ran into when I first came into being. We knew each other fairly well and got along really easily.

Kibito caught my eye and looked down at me curiously.

"Is something the matter, miss Azaelia?" He asked. I shook my head, still smiling.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about how you'd make a wonderfully exceptional Supreme Kai one day." I replied. His eyes widened a little and he immediately became flustered by my compliment.

"O-oh! Th-thank you, miss! I am humbled by your words!" Kibito said with a bow.

"Yes, I have to agree. Even if you have many a things to learn, as do even I, I have faith in you, Kibito." Shin said. Kibito looked at his master in awe. He then bowed again.

"Thank you, sir. Your words humble me as well." Kibito replied.

The three of us then averted our attention back to the arena as the Grand Minister asked our Universe Seven and the other Universe Nine to send our first fighters to the ring.

The red wolf humanoid was apparently their first fighter.

"Oh, please. He doesn't look like much to me." Beerus commented lazily.

"Yes. Sensing his energy... it feels… insignificant." I agreed. I sighed then turned to Papa.

"Okay, Papa. You're up fir-. Oh no…"

"He fell asleep!!?" Beerus, Goku, and Gohan exclaimed in unison.

"Azaelia!!" Beerus shouted.

"I know, I know!! Don't get your damn tail tied up." I grumbled as I walked over to Papa's sleeping body. I crouched down and pulled out a chocolate bar from my pocket. I kind of expected this to happen…

I unwrapped it and put it near Papa's face to let the smell waft into his nose holes. He thankfully woke up and bit down on the chocolate bar.

"Yay! Good job, Papa! Now, do you remember what I told you at Mr. Satan's house? It's time for you to play!" I said happily.

"Time to play!?" Papa asked excitedly. I nodded.

"Mhm! And your playmate is down there!" I replied while pointing down at the red wolf creature. Papa got up to see who it was.

"Buu think he funny! He look like dog!" Papa commented happily.

"Go get em, Buu! That doggy man says he wants to play with you really, really bad." Gohan said.

"Yes! If you go and play with him then I'll ask Mr. Satan to give you lots and lots of more chocolate." I added.

"Okay! Buu go play!" Papa said happily before jumping down onto the arena.

"Good luck, Papa!" I called out.

The Grand Minister floated upward and held his arm up.

"Let this opening match… Begin!"

The red wolf didn't hesitate. He sent a series of kicks Papa's way. Papa bounced around in all directions. Left, right, then up and down.

"A rough start. Those kick techniques are hard to block." Gohan commented.

"Yeah. He's looking pretty tough to beat." Goku agreed.

I wasn't worried, though.


	2. Chapter 2

The red wolf humanoid laughed as Papa laid on the arena.

"There's no way! How could he have defeated Majin Buu so easily!?" Shin yelled out. A worried expression displayed on my face as I turned to look back at him. I wasn't mad, I was just hurt.

The Supreme Kai from Universe Nine laughed.

"Getting nervous? These three warriors are the meanest and most powerful in the entire Nineth Universe! And that's why we've named them: The Trio of Danger!!!" The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai shouted.

"Umm…" Gohan murmured.

"Wait a sec. Did he just say Trio of Danger?" Goku asked.

"He cannot be serious about that name, can he…?" I questioned with a still worried expression.

"That's a lame name alright." Elder Kai agreed.

"You mock them!? The youngest brother is bashing your blobs backside! That's the danger of Basil the Kicker!!" The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai shouted.

Basil laughed then ran towards Papa. He kicked him into the air and gave a few more kicks before kicking him down. Papa smashed into the ground, causing a dust cloud to form.

"Hm. A one-trick-pony." I commented.

The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai then shouted something about telling Papa to give up then boasted about his Dangerous Three or whatever.

"Rather cruel and unsporting for a Kai, isn't he?" Kibito asked.

"Yes. Annoyingly vulgar, also." I replied.

"And that tells you everything you need to know about the Nineth Universe." Beerus added.

Papa rolled onto his back and started laughing. I smiled. He then got to his feet and hurried over to Basil.

"That was so fun! Do it to Buu again! What's wrong? Don't you want to play with Buu?" Papa asked happily.

"Get off me!!" Basil ordered as he kicked Papa. Papa then got sent flying back, but all that did was make Papa laugh even more.

"Wee!! That was fun! Do it more, do it more!" Buu called out. I couldn't stop a giggle from escaping.

"Hey, Papa!!" I called down. He looked up at me curiously.

"I think it's his turn to have fun now!" I yelled.

"Ohh, okay!" Papa said. He then turned toward the red wolf.

"Daughter say it Buu turn to let doggy have fun!" Papa said. He charged forward and tried attacking Basil. Basil countered. He tried tripping Papa, but Papa floated up into the air and sent a series of ki balls down at the red wolf. Basil blocked every one and they all went flying off in different directions. They continued on like that for awhile, but every attack Basil gave bounced right off of Papa.

Papa called Basil funny and said he wanted to be friends with him. Even though Basil refused, Papa tried thinking up a new game for him and his friend to play.

"Normally I wouldn't be worried, but this Basil he's fighting… There's something weird about him. You can sense it too, right Azaelia? Or can't, more like it." Goku asked.

"Oh. No, I am able sense their energy." I replied. Gohan was surprised to hear that.

"Wait, you can!? Seriously!? I knew you were good, but still…" Gohan trailed off. I sent energy into my eyes and thoroughly assessed the wolves humanoid's energies.

"It's very strange. They're transparent in a way, but also not. It's very hard to describe. It must be some sort of rare technique only found in the Nineth Universe or maybe even a technique exclusive to just those three." I informed before releasing the energy in my eyes. I could see the excitement on Goku's face. He then took a couple steps forward.

"Heyyy!! Mister Nineth Universe guy! You're gonna have to try a lot harder if you wanna finish off Buu! C'mon! Bust out your real moves and let's see you go all out!" Goku called down.

After a quick exchanged between brothers, Basil decided to finally take this fight a step further. Wind blew like a fierce storm as Basil sent energy into his right leg. He then did what he did before and kicked Papa and in all kinds of directions. Once Papa was on the floor again, Basil sent a series of ball blasts down at him with his feet. Papa took a direct hit. But even with the huge smoke cloud, I knew he was fine.

Basil boasted about the Dangerous Trio thingy then burst out laughing. Papa's laughing through the smoke caught Basil's attention.

"Hey, youuu! Buu had fun! Let's do it again!" Papa requested happily. Basil showed shock at Papa's condition. Papa looked down and noticed the giant hole in his body. He healed himself by filling the hole back up.

The fight then continued. Papa quickly gained the upper hand and exhausted Basil. His Supreme Kai then became upset with him.

"Hey, Basil!! If you don't win, I'll crush you myself!!" The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai shouted. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Ugh…! What an incredibly distasteful Kai. He makes Zamasu look like a saint." I half joked. I then surprisingly got a couple of held in laughs and smiles from Shin, Kibito, and Elder Kai.

Back down on the arena, Basil had just received a weird looking object from his universe's Kai. He ate it and instantly became healed. Not only that, but he grew muscles and also got a power boost from it.

"Hey, you can't use a power up!! Isn't that cheating!? The Nineth Universe are cheaters!!" Beerus yelled.

The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai protested, saying how Papa cheated by healing himself earlier. Beerus shot back by telling the Kai that it was Papa's natural ability and called their universe cheaters again. The Grand Minister declared that the fight would go on since the Omni King's wanted the match to keep going. The official rules would be set later for the actual tournament.

The fight continued.

Basil had the upper hand. His power surprised me a little, but I didn't get worried. I knew Papa could handle anything that wolf threw at him.

Once Universe Nine thought they won, Basil burst out into laughter. It went on for a few seconds until I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore. Giggles and chuckles escalated into full blown laughter. I laughed so hard that tears formed in my eyes.

I wiped a tear from my eye as I walked over to the edge of the platform.

"Papa, you can get up now!" I said with a smile. Papa then jumped out from the debris and popped his head back into shape. He chuckled as he landed back down to the ground. He cracked his neck a couple times before speaking.

"You strong man! But guess what! Majin Buu? He strong too! Way stronger than you are!" Papa declared. He then drew his hands back in a Kamehameha pose and started charging an attack. I could sense crazy amounts to pressure coming from it. This was the finishing shot.

"Hell yeah!! Do it, Papa! Show 'em what us Majin's are made of!!" I shouted excitedly.

Papa then fired off his attack. I could see the fear in Basil's eyes just before the blast swallowed him whole. A big after explosion went off.

After some dust cleared, Basil could be seen still standing.

"Buu hit him with all that and he's right back up. And laughing about it." Gohan said.

"I know. I'm kinda surprised by it." Goku agreed. I shook my head before turning to look at them.

"Mhm. This match is over now." I said with a smile.

They both looked back down at the arena to see what I meant. In that moment, the effects of the mineral Basil's Supreme Kai gave him, wore off. His body returned to normal and he passed out.

The Omni King's were thankfully satisfied with the end results so the Grand Minister declared the match officially over.

"The winner, from the Seventh Universe... Majin Buu!" The Grand Minister announced. I threw my hands up in excitement.

"Yes!!! Papa, you were amazing!!" I shouted. I could hear everyone else behind me express their happiness.

Papa made his way back up to us and I gave him the biggest hug I could.

"Papa, I'm so proud of you! I knew you could do it!" I said.

"Yay! Buu like it when you say nice things to him!" Papa replied.

"I know Mr. Satan is going to be really proud of you to!" I said before pulling away from him.

"I feel like you should have a reward for all of your hard work, but…" I took a look around before letting out a soft groan.

"There's nothing that I can transform into food around here." I said with a disappointed tone.

"Here. Allow me!" Shin suddenly said with a smile. He held his hands out and created a ton of sweets for Papa to snack on. Papa and I smiled. Shin looked to be getting better at his techniques and skills, which I was happy about.

"Yay! Yummy treats for Buu!" Papa shouted excitedly before eating. Shin and I both looked at each other and let out small laughs.

As Papa continued to snack, the Grand Minister fixed the destroyed arena before asking the next fighters to enter the ring.

"Well… Looks like it's my turn in the ring." Gohan said as he took off his glasses.

"Wait til you see my power. I'm stronger than ever." Gohan said. He didn't sound confident, but he also sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

I took a couple steps toward him.

"Gohan… If you'd like, I could be the one to go next." I offered. He looked at me with curious eyes.

"What the matter? You don't sound as confident with me as you did with your dad." Gohan pointed out.

"Wha-? O-oh, no! Th-that's not it at all! I just-." Gohan suddenly putting his hand on my head silenced me. He chuckled.

"Relax. I'm only teasing you. But anyway. I'll be fine, I promise. Besides, this'll be a great experience for me. I'll know what it is that I need to work on in order to get stronger." Gohan assured me. I gave in. I reached my hand up to gently pull Gohan's hand off my head.

"Okay… When you put it that way, I guess I don't have much of a choice." I said with a smile. He smiled back.

"Well, I think I speak for both of us when I say: Good luck, Gohan." Goku said as he walked toward us.

"Make sure to play it smart. We don't know their strengths, so be careful." Goku advised.

"Right!" Gohan replied.

"Now, get down there!" Goku said in a more lighter tone.

"I'm on it!" Gohan replied before jumping down to the arena.

When the next opponent jumped in the arena, he just started laughing.

Goku and I both figured that Gohan would do the "Wait and see tactic", so Goku advised his son against it and told him to go all out. Gohan thanked his father and turned back to his opponent.

Gohan and the hunched over wolf creature walked toward each other and met in the middle before the Grand Minister started the match. Once it began, the two started throwing a series of fast kicks and punches at each other. A short couple seconds later and the wolf creature jumped into the air. Gohan saw an opportunity and went for it. Much to my disappointment, the wolf creature landed on top of Gohan's outstretched arm before puffing out a cloud of purple smoke into Gohan's face.

My eyes widened and I gasped. Poison!?

"Gohan!!" I shouted worryingly.

The wolf creature jumped away and blew poison onto his hands. He then charged toward Gohan and punched him in the stomach multiple times before kicking him down to the ground.

Dammit! I knew I should have been the one to go. Being a Majin meant I was immune to any poison. It would have to be some powerful stuff to do pretty much anything to me. I could down ten whole things of rat poison and never feel a thing.

The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai's gloating caught my attention. Apparently the wolf like being Gohan was fighting right now was called Lavender. And even though I hated to admit it, Lavender had a really good strategy. He starts out by blinding his opponent then attacking with poison covered hands, ultimately wearing down his enemy. And having no way to sense Lavender's energy, his opponents are completely helpless. It's a simple yet brilliant strategy.

"Here, Gohan! Take a senzu!" I heard a voice behind me call out. I looked over to find Shin holding up a bag with what I assumed had senzu beans inside.

"Their last fighter used a power up. We should aswell." Shin pointed out. It was a good idea and seemed fair. But if I knew Gohan…

"No, Supreme Kai!! I don't need a senzu!" Gohan shouted before receiving a hard kick from Lavender. Gohan skidded to a stop and struggled to pick himself up.

I could feel a horrible hurt in my chest.

"You guys… Please just stay out of this… I need to fight this battle alone. Using my own power." Gohan struggled to get out his words. He was grunting and groaning from the harsh pain he was in.

"But… But, Gohan! Please, just take ONE! I can't stand to see you like this! If you don't get rid of the poison you could die, Gohan! Please, just… take one." I begged.

Gohan stood there for a few seconds without saying anything or even turning around. I started to grow worried until he finally said something.

"Azaelia… I know you're worried and scared. I worry about you almost all the time. Just like my father, you somehow get yourself caught in all sorts of things. But this is just something that I have to do on my own. The best way you can help me right now… is by believing in me. Like you did for your father. Do you think you can do that for me, little sis...?" Gohan asked. I held back the tears I felt coming up.

"Okay…" I choked out. A couple tears slipped out. I was so scared of losing him. I was in Hell the whole time when I was in Other World so I had no idea if Gohan died here.

I reached behind my head and held onto the red ribbon that was holding my hair in a lazy ponytail.

Bardock... When did I become such a damn wimp?

I wiped my tears away and looked back down at Gohan with a determined expression.

"You can do it, Gohan!!! Kick this guy's ass!! Show these Universe Nine idiots what's what!!" I shouted.

I could see Gohan's smirk from here.

Lavender started slowly walking around Gohan. He stopped when he was directly behind him. Lavender then jumped into the air and spun around before attempting to drop down and kick him. It looked like the attack would have landed, but thankfully Gohan was quick enough to block it. Lavender's surprise left Gohan an opening. He took a swing with his right hand and punched Lavender's jaw, sending the wolf flying back. After getting back on his feet, Lavender declared that Gohan's punch was just a lucky strike before charging over to the Saiyan. He threw a couple punches and a kick. Gohan blocked every one.

"How are you blocking me!?" Lavender questioned. Gohan ignored his question and kicked upward, getting Lavender in the jaw again. Lavender tried attacking again, but Gohan easily blocked every advance, before hitting Lavender away again.

"Hmm. I'm really glad that he's found a way to fight, but… if he doesn't hurry up and win, then the poison could completely take over his whole body." I said.

"Yes. I fear for that as well." Shin agreed.

Lavender caught on to Gohan's plan and floated up into the air.

"I must say, quite the clever gambit." I heard Whis comment.

"It will be difficult to detect his presence from that distance." Shin added.

Lavender then shot two purple beams down at Gohan. Gohan successfully blocked them with his arms. Multiple shots were then rained down on him. All Gohan could do was block. Lavender changed spots and shot Gohan from all sorts of angles, forcing him to jump back out of the way. He was on one knee now, panting.

After the Nineth Universe Supreme Kai ordered Lavender to finish the fight, the wolf creature started charging up an extra powerful attack. Gohan then did something I wasn't expecting. He got up on his feet and started raising his power. I gasped.

"No, wait!! Gohan, don't!!" I shouted.

He yelled out as his hair turned that familiar blonde. He then flared out his energy even more.

"Dammit, no… All he's doing is speeding up the process." I said.

The match continued. Gohan was able to block every one of Lavender's attacks now, regardless if he was up in the air or not. He was bouncing his energy off of Lavender to find where he was located.

Gohan flew up into the sky to fight his opponent head on.

His plan was smart. I expected nothing less from him. But the poison was spreading faster now.

Eventually what I feared started coming to light. The poison was beginning to be too much for Gohan. He fell to the ground and his Super Saiyan form wore off. He held onto himself and grunted from the pain.

"Gohan!! Gohan, come on, get up!! This isn't over yet!! You can still fight, now stand up!!" I demanded. I yelled to hide how scared I was. I was terrified. But he didn't need me dotting over him. He needed someone to push him.

He complied and forced himself to get back to his feet. Lavender rushed over and punched Gohan a few times before blowing another cloud of poison at him. He then proceeded to punch him some more. Gohan flew up into the sky to avoid more hits, but Lavender followed him and continued his assault.

Gohan flared out his energy and became Super Saiyan once again. I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from yelling. I just wanted this to be over. I just wanted Gohan to be okay again.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I knew immediately who it was by his energy. I turned to look up at the spiky haired Saiyan. He didn't say anything, but I knew exactly what he was thinking. And he was right. I couldn't give up on Gohan. Gohan would get through this. I've seen him win what seemed like impossible fights before. This shouldn't be any different.

I clenched my fist and bit down on my cheek as I went back to watching the match. Gohan and Lavender were on opposite sides of the ring. They both shot blasts at each other and were now at a stalemate. My eyes widened as I watched the purple poison spread completely in Gohan's arms and a little on his face.

Lavender's blast unfortunately overpowered Gohan's Kamehameha. Lavender chased after Gohan's falling body and puffed out a giant poison cloud. Gohan flared out his energy again before flying into the poison cloud and giving Lavender a good punch in the jaw.

"Yes!!" I exclaimed happily.

Gohan then put Lavender in a lock before flying straight down. They both crashed, causing a big crater to form. After the smoke cleared, we could see Lavender pass out. It took a few seconds, but Gohan eventually moved and thankfully stood up.

"Yes!! That was amazing, Gohan! You did it!!" I shouted happily. Everyone else behind me could be heard letting out either sighs of relief or sounds of happiness.

It was enough for Gohan to hear before he let himself go and his body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Gohan!" I cried out worryingly.

The Grand Minister floated down to check on the fighter's conditions before declaring the match a draw.

I quickly made my way down to the arena and expelled the poison from Gohan's body. I looked down at him with a worried yet frustrated expression. Relief filled me as his eyes gradually opened.

"…nearly gave me a heart attack." I mumbled. He smiled somewhat weakly.

"Sorry bout that." He apologized. I mirrored his smile.

"It's fine. I'm just glad that you're okay." I said.

"Yeah, me too. You did great out there." Goku agreed. I almost forgot he followed me down here. He kind of surprised me.

"I kept repeating your words in my head, Azaelia. Over and over. They helped encourage me to keep going. And yet, still I wasn't good enough to win… In the end, all I did was scare you half to death." Gohan said. I shook my head.

"No, it's quite alright, Gohan. Truly. It's like I said. I'm just glad you're okay now. You were incredible." I replied with a smile.

"Yeah, that fight was amazing! I got so excited watching it!" Goku said. Gohan chuckled lightly.

"Listen. You're stronger than you think." Goku added. Gohan closed his eyes, but kept smiling.

"No. Got a long way to go." Gohan replied before looking up at me.

"Azaelia? Would you mind training with me again? It's been a long time since we trained together. I could really use your's and Piccolo's help." Gohan said. I smiled sweetly.

"It would be my pleasure." I replied.

After taking Gohan back up to our watching platform, the Grand Minister announced a message from the Omni King's.

"Grand Zeno is deeply moved that those of the lowest ranking mortal levels would treat us to battles as extraordinary as the ones we've just witnessed and would like to extend his gratitude to all the fighters for their efforts." The Grand Minister announced.

"Wait, mortal…?" Shin asked.

"What-? Levels?" Beerus questioned nervously.

"You see, Grand Zeno has carefully evaluated all twelve universes and assigned each one a ranking." The Grand Minister informed.

"S-so, uh… How did the Seventh Universe fair in his estimation?" Beerus asked.

"Among all worlds populated by mortals within the Seventh Universe, the average level is 3.20. Which is rather poor. That's second from the bottom in fact." The Grand Minister replied. Beerus let out a strange noise of shock. Whis then asked which universe was the lowest.

"I'm sure you already know." The Grand Minister replied as he looked over at the Nineth Universe. Apparently their level was 1.86.

The Grand Minister then went on to talk about the Tournament of Power. After thanking Goku for the idea of the tournament, he revealed to everyone that any universe defeated in the Tournament would be erased. No one sounded happy to hear the news, of course.

The Nineth Universe expressed their concern about being erased during the Expo, but the Grand Minister reassured them that they were safe.

"Grand Minister? There is one detail I wish to clarify." Shin said. I looked back at him to find him in a bowing position.

"By all means, please, tell me what it is." The Grand Minister replied.

"When you say the defeated universes will be eliminated, does that apply to ALL of the universes that are defeated in the tournament?" Shin asked.

"Yes. Although, I should point out that the First and Twelfth universe, as well as the Fifth and the Eighth, are exempt from participating in this parricular tournament. Those four universes have average mortal levels of seven or higher. So they will be spared that particular consequence." The Grand Minister explained. Whis then asked if this was some way of letting at least one universe be spared of being erased. The Grand Minister confirmed Whis's theory.

Hearing both Grand Zeno's and Goku express their excitement for the tournament really seemed to wear me out. Mentally at least.

"This is all your fault!! You're the one who foolishly believed that if a mortal world didn't reach a higher level all on their own, it wouldn't mean anything, so you refused to lift a single finger to help them!!" Beerus shouted. I turned around to see what he was going on about, and sure enough, he was right in Shin's face.

"What about you!? What have you done besides spend mo-!"

I gripped one of Beerus's ears and pushed him away from Shin.

"Who the hell do you think you're yelling at!!? At least he's been awake for the past millennia!!" I shouted. He swatted my hand away, forcing me to let go of his ear.

"Grr! You're lucky I don't erase you right now on the spot for that!" Beerus shouted.

"And risk your chance of losing the tournament!? Yeah, right! And don't change the subject!!" I shouted.

"If that's all, then we should move on to the next match." I heard the Grand Minister suddenly say. It quickly caught my attention and pulled me away from my quarrel with Beerus.

"Oh! J-just a second, sir!" I called out.

"Yes, what is it?" The Grand Minister asked politely.

"Please excuse my interruption, but… I have a concern I'd like put to rest." I replied.

"By all means, ask away." He said.

"Umm. If a universe gets erased… what'll happened to the Gods of that universe?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, they'll all be done away with at the same time. Except for the Angels, naturally." The Grand Minister replied. I felt my heart drop.

That's not what I wanted to hear. That's not what I wanted to hear at all.

I could hear Beerus expressing his shock behind me.

"Would that be all, miss?" The Grand Minister asked.

"O-oh… Yes. Thank you." I replied with a bow. He returned the bow before getting back to introducing the next match up.

This was probably the most important thing to happen in the history of anything. How could something this big have slipped past me while I was in Other World? King Yemma should have alerted me. Or… or…

A gentle hand on my upper arm pulled me back to the present. I turned to look at who it belonged to.

Somehow, upon seeing his face, I had gained my memory back. I did remember hearing about this in Other World. King Yemma informed me of something big that was happening between the universes, but I refused to look into it. I feared that if I found out what was going to happen before I went back to my original timeline, I could end up going by impulse and change time in a drastic way. It was a smart move on my part and I would have done the same thing over again. But now I was in the dark and scared.

"Don't worry. We can get through this." Shin assured me. No matter how completely worried I was, I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face.

"Mhm." I replied.


	3. Chapter 3

The last match of the Expo was Goku versus someone named Bergamo. Bergamo was apparently the eldest brother of the uhm… Dangerous Trio? The Three Dangers?

Whatever.

After Bergamo gave a dumb, quick little speech about Goku being the bad guy, he asked the Grand Zeno's to rescind their order to destroy the losing universes in the tournament if he beat Goku.

"Hmm. This could actually turn out quite favorable. Can't say I'm a fan of witnessing Goku lose, but- Oh, what am I saying? Goku won't lose. He's relentless!" I said mostly to myself.

"Yeah, no kidding." Gohan agreed.

Beerus stomped is foot in anger.

"Dammit! He's convincing everyone here that Goku is the main villain of the tournament!" Beerus complained. Whis agreed.

The Grand Zeno's ended up agreeing to Bergamo's request. But if Goku were to purposely lose, the Omni King's would erase all twelve universes on the spot. Goku agreed and happily said he'd give this fight everything he had.

The Grand Minister started the match. Goku and Bergamo immediately started throwing punches and kicks. After a few seconds, they stopped. Bergamo held his arms out to his sides and asked Goku to hit him.

"He wants to get hit?" Gohan questioned.

"That's a bad plan when you're up against Goku." Shin commented.

"Yes, but there must be a reason for it. I doubt that even this guy would let an opponent he's never gone up against attack him freely." I said.

Bergamo provoked Goku to punch him so Goku did as he was asked and used Bergamo's body as a punching bag for a short few seconds. Once Goku finished, Bergamo used every punch Goku dished out and made the force behind them his own.

"He grew bigger!" Shin exclaimed.

Bergamo clenched his fists as they started to glow.

"Not only that, but it seems he took the power behind Goku's punches and is now using it as if it was his own." I pointed out.

"Now we know why he asked dad to hit him. This guy's got an incredible ability." Gohan commented.

The fight continued on. Goku punched Bergamo again and again, hoping it would do damage. But all it would do is cause Bergamo to grow bigger and gain more power. The Nineth Universe Supreme Kai continued to gloat as the fight went on. And despite the disadvantage Goku appeared to be at, he looked to be having a good time.

"Wait, is he laughing!?" Shin questioned. It was then that the realization hit.

"Oh! Now I understand!" I exclaimed.

"Hm? Understand what?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, what did you figure out?" Shin asked.

"You'll just have to watch and find out." I replied with a hint of a giggle in my voice. I looked back down at the stage.

"Goku may not be very intelligent, but he's pretty smart when it comes to combat." I added.

They soon understood when Bergamo ended up getting as big as the arena. Goku was purposely making Bergamo bigger. The now giant wolf had way more blind spots.

Eventually Goku went Super Saiyan Blue, surprising all the Gods. He then took it a step further by using his Kaioken.

Goku fired off a Kamehameha and Bergamo counter by trying to stop it with his hand. Bergamo then fired off his own attack. It almost overtook Goku's Kamehameha, but Goku managed to not only stop Bergamo's attack from getting through but also successfully hit.

Bergamo returned back to his normal size and passed out. The Grand Minister floated down to declare Goku the winner.

After Bergamo's brothers came to get him, Goku excitedly shouted to the other universes that he'd gladly take on every last one of their warriors and win. I could hear the disapproving whispers of the Gods from here.

"Oh, Goku…" I muttered quietly to myself. Gohan let out a nervous laugh beside me.

After the Grand Minister announced the end of the Expo, he explained the rules for the Tournament of Power.

Knock an opponent off the ring to out them. No weapons. No killing. No flying.

"Finally, there will be a time limit of one hundred taks." The Grand Minister said. Whis thankfully informed us that that was 48 minutes in Earth time. He then expressed his concern about the tournament being too long by having each match be 48 minutes long. The Grand Minister replied by telling him that it was all going to be one match.

"That's not a tournament! That's an eight universe, eighty fighter, battle royal! All those guys fighting in one place!? At one time!?" Shin questioned. I looked over at him with concern. I really did hate to see him so stressed.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of space. The ring we're constructing is quite large. Everyone will fight until the clock hits zero. Where upon the universe with the most fighters left will be declared winner. Of course in the event one team defeats all others before time runs out, that universe will be victorious." The Grand Minister explained.

"If we want our universe to win, they'll have to fight as a team!" Shin said. I sighed.

"Yes, but how easy will that be? There's no way Goku or Vegeta could do that." I said in a disappointed tone.

"What? No way, Azaelia! I can do teamwork. Plus Gohan's all about that kinda stuff." Goku said before turning to his son.

"As long as we've got you, we'll be fine! Right, son? Team buildin'? Y'know?" Goku asked. Gohan's brows furrowed.

"Gee, thanks, dad. No pressure, huh?" Gohan questioned. I sighed again.

After what we assumed was the ending of the meeting, a fighter from Universe Eleven, jumped down onto the arena. He introduced himself as Top, the leader of the "Pride Troopers", and had a very strange need to pose every couple seconds. He talked of justice and righteousness. I found it strangely impossible to look away.

As Top challenged Goku to a fight, I sent energy into my eyes to assess his energy better. What I found was very fascinating.

"Oh my!" I exclaimed.

"Is something the matter?" Shin asked worryingly.

"That man down there. Top, I believe. He's their universe's next God of Destruction." I replied as I released the energy in my eyes.

"What!?" Gohan asked.

"A-are you absolutely certain!?" Kibito asked. I nodded.

"Yes. Underneath his regular energy, I can sense a hidden power. God of Destruction power." I answered.

"Yes, now that you mention it, I do sense a sort of divinity about him." Beerus commented.

I pulled my attention back over to what was happening once the Supreme Kai from the Eleventh Universe spoke up.

"Noble Grand Zeno's, forgive the inturruption, but we have a request." The Eleventh Universe Supreme Kai started.

"What's that?" The first Omni King asked.

"What's your request?" The second Omni King asked.

"For any here who don't know, my name is Cae, Supreme Kai of the Eleventh. After watching the last match of the Zeno Expo, I can't help but be impressed by the fighting abilities of Goku. I have brought my bodyguard, Top, who now stads in the ring. Grand Zeno's, would you allow for an additional exposition match between him and Goku?" Cae asked.

What a tool. Lying through the skin of his teeth. And also. A bodyguard? Seriously? What kind of Kai needs a bodyguard?

"Is something the matter, Azaelia?" I looked at Shin beside me.

"It's the Universe Eleven's Supreme Kai. He sort of rubs me the wrong way. He's a high pedigree for sure, but he also holds himself on a high pedestal. A bit too self confident, in my opinion…" I replied with a sigh.

Once both Grand Zeno's happily agreed to an extra match, I raised my hand.

"Excuse me!"

"Yes, what is it?" The Grand Minister asked. I really hated to cause so many interruptions, but…

"Please forgive my intrusion, but I also have a request."

"And what may that be?" The Grand Minister asked.

"May I replace Goku in this match? I'd like to have my turn in the ring." I answered with a smile. Shin turn to me in surprise.

"But, Azaelia…!" He started to protest.

"Aww, come on, Azaelia!! That's no fair!!" Goku shouted in a whiney tone.

"Are you trying to reveal all of our universes secrets!?" Beerus whispered harshly. I looked back at him with an annoyed expression.

"Relax. I'm not stupid enough to reveal all of my techniques in a single match. Not like a certain couple of Saiyan's we know." I replied. I then turned back to the Omni Kings.

"Grand Zeno's! Just like you, watching these matches has been a great joy for me! I know this warrior of justice, Top, has expressed his desire to fight Goku, but as a martial artist, these fights have excited me and lit my urge to fight as well! Please, Grand Zeno's. If you grant me my wish to fight against this man-. Bodyguard versus bodyguard." I said as I gestured toward Shin with my hand.

"I promise you will not be disappointed." I ended with a smile. As the Omni King's thought about my request, I could hear small little whispers amongst the other Gods.

"Ugh… There they go talking about it again…" Beerus grumbled. I looked back at him curiously.

"Talking about what?" I asked. Shin looked to be incredibly embarrassed.

"Oh, nothing. Just a certain viral video going around Godtube recently." Elder Kai spoke up. I raised a brow.

"Godtube?" I questioned curiously. And when did he start use words like "viral"?

I heard a sudden cough from beside me. I turned the other way to see Kibito holding what looked like a viewing pad for me to see. He pressed the button on screen and a video started playing. I gasped.

It was the fight between Shin and Zamasu when we were in Future Trunks's old timeline. The camera panned over to my unconscious body. The voice behind the camera talked about a "love triangle" and "forbidden loves".

I took a step back.

"Wait, no. Th-this is all a misunderstanding! H-he was just trying to stop Zamasu from destroying everything! Who filmed this!?" I asked frantically. I found it completely bizarre too. I mean this was such a life or death situation. Who could have possibly had the time to sit back and start filming!?

"Yours truly." Beerus said as he gestured his hand upward. I followed where he was lazily looking and rested my eyes upon the culprit.

"What!!? Nooo… Gowasuuuu…?" I whined.

"Miss?"

"Huh?" Everyone in our Universe Seven immediately turned our attention back to the Grand Minister. I quickly stood up straight again.

"O-oh! Y-yes, sir?" I asked.

"The Omni King's have decided to grant your request." The Grand Minister replied. My face lit up.

"Oh! You have my sincerest thank you!" I said with a bow.

I was hoping Papa would cheer me on during this fight, but at this point he was already asleep. I smiled and rolled my eyes before switching places with Goku.

"Do your best, Azaelia!" Gohan cheered.

"Yes, good luck!" I heard Shin say.

I landed on my feet and stretched my arms above my head.

"My apologies. I know you were really looking forward to fighting Goku, but you see…" I trailed off as I stretched my right arm over to my left.

"Anyone who messes with the people I care about are going to have to answer to me." I finished as I stretched my left arm over to my right side.

"You associate yourself with such evil?" Top asked. For some reason the question caught me off guard. I slowly lowered my arms as I stared at him blankly.

Good? Evil?

"Warrior of justice. I do not associate myself with evil. Goku may be an idiot, but he is still my friend. However, any decisions he makes are purely his and his alone. Whether he's truly evil doesn't matter to me. I'll protect my friends no matter what. If that makes me a villain then so be it!" I replied as I put my hair into a tight ponytail.

"Hm. What a naive child, you are. It is quite a shame that you have been influenced by such injustices." Top commented.

Once the match was started, Top and I raced towards each other.

 

~*~

 

*Shin P.O.V.*

 

Any attempt at an attack Top gave was easily avoided by Azaelia. Being so nimble and swift definitely gave her an advantage despite how surprisingly acrobatic Top was. Azaelia giggled every now and then as she got a few good punches in which put her in favor of winning with the Grand Zeno's.

"Top is putting up a really good fight, but it looks like Azaelia's got this in the bag!" Goku commented.

"Yes, and it seems she is doing more than just winning. She's trying to put on a show." Whis pointed out.

"Yes, her attacks do appear to be more flashier than usual, don't they?" Beerus asked.

Although it may have appeared to the others that Azaelia was having an easy time, from my perspective, I could tell she was struggling more than she was letting on.

"So, you noticed it too, Supreme Kai?" I turned to my right to look at the Saiyan beside me.

"She's had to resort to using a couple of her Majin abilities, which we both know she doesn't ever like using. Though, I still don't know why…" Gohan added. I turned my attention back to the fight.

No one knew why Azaelia hated using her Majin powers. They would have definitely given her plenty of advantages in the fights she been in. I just hope she didn't hold herself back too much.

A couple times throughout the fight, Top tried teaching Azaelia about justice and it's meaning. But the way he talked to her was off-putting. Like she was a child that had no understanding of how the world worked. As if she didn't know any better. But Azaelia ignored his words and continued attacking.

"Destruct-jin!!" Azaelia shouted. A huge pink and red blast went off from Azaelia's hands and engulfed Top.

"That looked like an execution." Beerus said.

"My, looks like Azaelia went a little overboard." Whis agreed.

Though when the dust cleared, we could see that Top was still standing. He was really scrapped up and out of breath too. Azaelia thankfully took the time to heal herself back to full health.

Top looked at his shoulder and noticed a couple tears in his uniform. He put a hand over the tear and griped a little about it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Azaelia exclaimed before landing back down on the arena. She had completely fallen out of battle mode now.

"I-I can fix it if you want!" Azaelia offered. Top and everyone else displayed their surprise in her sudden change.

"Really! I promise! No tricks." Azaelia continued as she held her hands up. Just as it looked like Top was going to give in, the Grand Minister suddenly spoke up.

"I think we'll stop the match here."

The Grand Zeno's protested, saying how they wanted to see the rest of the fight, but the Grand Minister told them they should put this off until the battle royal. The Omni King's eventually agreed.

I watched as Azaelia drew closer to Top to not only fix the tears in his uniform just like she promised, but to also heal his wounds. They had a few exchanged words before Azaelia's eyes suddenly widened. They said their fair wells to each other before going their separate ways.

Once Azaelia made it back to the platform, Gohan and Goku praised her for a good fight. But she didn't look very happy.

"Thanks guys, but the fight ended in a draw. I didn't exactly win. Top definitely had more power than that." Azaelia said.

"Yeah, but still, you looked like you were having a lot of fun out there." Goku replied teasingly as he nudged her with his elbow.

I took a step forward.

"Azaelia...?" I started. Her light purple eyes shifted and landed on me. Her expression seemed to soften.

"Hm?" She hummed.

"I didnt mean to be looking in, but... if you don't mind my asking, what was is that Top said that surprised you?" I asked. She tilted her head in confusion, but quickly understood what I was referring too.

"Oh! No, it's quite alright. It wasn't anything private, I assure you. It's just… What Top told me was a bit troubling." She replied.

"What was it?" Gohan asked.

"He said… that there was another warrior in his universe that was even stronger than him." She answered with a worried tone. Everyone including me expressed their surprise, but Goku was excited to hear the news.

"Top said that his name was… Jiren the Gray. But the name is what bothers me." Azaelia continued.

"What do you mean?" I asked. She held her hands together in a nervous manner.

"I-It's nothing. Just my mind playing tricks on me. I-… I thought I might have heard that name somewhere before, but... how could I have possible heard the name of someone from a distant universe!?" Azaelia questioned with a laugh. A few of the others let out a laugh or chuckled. But I didn't… Her laugh didn't seem like a real laugh. The whole stress of this situation must have been getting to her more than she was letting on. I couldn't blame her, though. Everything we've ever cared about was at stake. The only difference was that I couldn't do anything about it… I couldn't fight to protect our universe since I was a Supreme Kai.

I had to find some other way to help out.

 

~*~

 

*Shin P.O.V. End*

 

After Goku got chewed out by Beerus for being too excited for the tournament, the Grand Minister made an announcement.

"Now that the fights are settled, I shall begin preparing the ring for the Tournament of Power in the Null realm. I'm afraid construction will take some time, so I ask for your patience as we begin a necessary hiatus before the tournament. And thus concludes today's events. Everyone please meet back here for the tournament official start on day three billion, one hundred thirty five million, five hundred thousand, six hundred three of the royal calender. We'll kick things off promptly at one hundred, fifty seven o' clock." The Grand Minister said.

Goku spoke up to ask about times and what a hiatus was. The Grand Minister had to explain to him in terms of Earth time which I was secretly thankful of.

So we had a little less than two days.

"Alright, dear friends, we'll see you all again when preparations are done. Good luck." The Grand Minister said before dismissing the meeting.

After Goku said goodbye to the Omni King's, Shin teleported us all to the Supreme Kai planet back in our own Universe Seven.

Goku let out a short exhale.

"Well, guess I can start coming up with a battle strategy for our team." Gohan said.

"Good idea." I agreed with a smile.

"Yeah, but I think we'll be fine." Goku said casually.

"I literally just told you to start taking this tournament seriously!" Beerus growled as he stomped toward Goku.

"We just have to win, I get it." Goku said irritantly with his hands behind his head.

"Yes, obviously, Goku. The question is: What's the actual plan for pulling it off!!?" Beerus shouted.

"Oh, boy…" I said with a sigh.

"How can we plan when we don't know who we're fighting? There's no use worrying about what we can't control." Goku replied.

"Shouldn't you at least use this time to train?" Beerus asked with a held in growl.

"Getting that riled up all the time can't be good for you." Goku commented with his arms crossed.

"Alright, you two, that's enough bickering." Whis interjected.

"Yes, Whis is right. Our first priority should be recruiting fighters for our team. We only have two days, after all." I added.

"Precisely. Whining and taking shots at each other isn't what'll win that tournament, boys. We know Goku and Azaelia's track records. Let's trust them and the others to get us through this." The Elder Kai pointed out. I looked down at him, putting a hand over my heart.

"Aww! Do you really mean that?" I asked half jokingly. He quickly turned away from me.

"Hmph! Don't take that to heart. There's just no one else more qualified around yet." He replied grumpily. I shook my head and held in a laugh. I turned to Shin to find that he also had an amused smile on his face.

"Fiiine. Then we'll reconvene at Bulma's place." Beerus decided.

"What? Why do you wanna go to Earth!?" Goku questioned.

"We prefer to talk strategy there. So we can eat while we plan. In fact, eating the best Earth foods now is more important than ever before. Because thanks to a certain fool and his cursed mouth, I probably won't have the chance for much longer." Beerus complained passive aggressively.

"You've got some nerve. How can you be complaining about destruction when you've been doing it willy-nilly for centuries?" Goku asked.

"Grr! I do not do it willy-NILLYYYY-!!" Beerus yelled.

"Alright, you two, shut up now!!" I interjected with my hands on my hips.

"Yes, honestly! If we keep bickering with each other like unruly school children then what hope do we have of defeating any of the higher ranked universe's teams?" Whis questioned.

"Yep, the Angels got you there." Elder Kai added. Beerus gave in as his head hung low.

"Good point…" Beerus agreed.

Gohan stepped forward. He made eye contact with me then Goku.

"I know we can put together a team that can take on the entire cosmos." Gohan said confidently. Goku and I gave a nod.

"You bet!" Goku exclaimed.

"Right." I agreed, giving them the best smile I could.

Although, unknowingly to me, the Kai beside me could see right through my smile as he stared at me worryingly.

This tournament was putting us all on edge. But this wasn't the time for personal issues. This was the time for shoving aside personal issues and prioritizing. Whatever was bothering me could wait until after this whole thing was over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting for the dub to catch up a little, but I think I'm gonna start up again after tonight's episode airs. On another note, my birthday is in a couple days. I'll take a break on that day for obvious reasons, but I'll start up again after. Promise.

After our fun discussion at the Supreme Kai planet, we teleported over to Bulma's. Much to Goku and Beerus's surprise, Chi-Chi had cooked a whole bunch of food and needed someone to eat it all. Elder Kai and Whis decided to join them in their feast. Papa stayed asleep nearby.

"Sorry to inturupt, but perhaps we should select our team first." Shin suggested. It came out sounding more like a question.

"Yes, I do believe that something this important requires our top priority." I added somewhat snarkily.

"If you're gonna rush me then pick them yourself. Although… you better make sure they can win." Beerus warned. He stared intimidatingly at Shin and I, but I stood my ground and stared back, sending daggers toward the God of Destruction. He got the message and grumpily turned his head away before continuing to eat.

Shin noticed our glaring but decided not to say anything. I looked down at him and smiled. He smiled back somewhat wearily. I felt myself worry at the sight of it. He was trying to put on a brave face.

"Shin…? I know you're really stressed about all of this, but please do not worry. Everything will work out. We'll find enough team members and we'll all fight hard so you and this universe won't get erased." I assured him before giving him the most sincere smile I'd ever given anyone.

"I promise." I added. His smile lighten a little.

"Thank you very much, Azaelia. I-…" Shin suddenly stopped himself. I titled my head in confusion. Something seemed to be bothering him.

"Shin?" I asked, trying to see if he'd reply. He shook his head lightly.

"My apologies. It's nothing. I was just going to suggest that we get to picking team members." Shin said.

"Oh. Yes, of course." I replied. I then turned to Gohan.

"What about you, Gohan? Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. But, Supreme Kai, can you tell me something first?" Gohan asked.

"What is it?" Shin replied in his usual polite tone.

"Exactly how many inhabited worlds are there in the Seventh Universe?" Gohan asked.

"Let's see... Since planet Sadala, Vegeta, and Namek are no longer with us, that brings the total to twenty-eight, I believe." Shin answered.

"Do you think anyone on those worlds is strong enough to compete in the Tournament of Power?" Gohan asked.

"That's difficult to say. I've never observed them all from the perspective of their combat abilities." Shin replied.

"And that negligence is precisely why we're now rank-!"

I slammed a hand on the table while my other rested on my hip. I glared at Beerus with a face that said "Go ahead. Finish that sentence."

Beerus turned away and grumbled before getting back to his food. It wasn't that he was afraid. It was just that he didn't feel like arguing with someone that had the same temperament as a certain blue haired female.

Elder Kai let out a heavy sigh, breaking the tension.

"Still can't believe out of twelve universes, our average mortal level is only second from the bottom. It's pitiful." Elder Kai said.

"Yes, I agree about that. Even Champa's universe has a higher ranking than we do." I said.

"There's going to be eight teams competing in this, right? Which means our odds of winning would only be around 12.5% if all the universes were on equal footing. Kinda makes me wish I could get resealed in the Z-sword." Elder Kai said before letting out a short, pitiful laugh.

Beerus suddenly stood up from his seat.

"Hey, this is no time to be laughing, old man! If we lose, you'll be vaporized too!" Beerus yelled. I sighed in frustration before rolling my eyes and moving away from the table.

"That may be, Destroyer, but there's no point in pitching a fit about it now." Elder Kai shot back.

Goku casually held his hands behind him and assured Beerus yet again that there wasn't anything to worry about before wondering what kinds of fighters were gonna be in the tournament. I let my mind wander on the thought. If Universe Six and Eleven were taking part in this then that would mean not only would Top and his friend Jiren be there, but Hit as well.

Hmm… Jiren… I somehow couldn't get the name out of my head. I'd heard it before when I was in Other World at least once. I had so many questions. How did I hear the name and who exactly was Jiren the Gray? Did I end up watching the tournament back when I was in Other World and just somehow can't remember…?

A sudden pair of hands slamming on the table brought me back to reality.

"And Monaka!" Goku exclaimed. The random mention of the name caused a very amusing memory to play in my head.

"Mona-!? Uh, Monaka can't come, sorry. He's not feeling well and he's busy too and what is so funny!!?" Beerus asked as I tried holding in my laugh.

"Ha ha!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! My apologies! I, uhm… guess if Monaka can't make it then we'll just have to find someone else." I said, covering my mouth as if it would actually stop my laughter.

I remember being in Other World and watching Hit get "knocked out" by Monaka on my crystal ball. I laughed just as hard then as I did when I first saw it happen.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. That's a real shame, though. The strongest fighter in the universe can't make it." Goku said mostly to himself.

"Well, we could get Piccolo and Krillin. That's two more." Gohan murmured. I turned to look at him.

"Wait, Krillin? I-I don't mean to criticize your idea, but… are you sure…?" I asked. I had nothing against Krillin. He was a nice guy that took care of his family and was good at his job. I just wasn't sure if he was strong enough for a big tournament like this.

Goku called over Gohan for some good old fashioned image training. Shin and I stood side by side as we watched them.

"Um… Shin?" I started. He turned to look at me, but I didn't look away from the two Saiyan's.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked in a polite tone.

"Do… Do you think Hit will be in tournament?" I asked before looking at him. Shin smiled.

"You must have really taken an interest in him. You sure do seem to talk about him quite a lot." He said. My brows raised.

"Wait, really!? I-I'm sorry! I-I don't mean to! I-I just-." I stammered.

"No, it's quite alright. He is an incredible fighter and his techniques are very unique. He certainly isn't average which is why I can see why even you've had your interest peaked." Shin said. I wasn't sure what to reply with. With Shin, I wasn't able to rid of my feelings for him during the whole thousands and thousands of years that I'd been in Other World. But with Hit, I'd completely forgotten about him. It wasn't until I saw him when he came to assassinate Goku was when my crush on him developed again. And now here I was, wondering if Champa was going to recruit him for the Tournament of Power. I wasn't sure why I was doubting it, but I was. I'm pretty sure it was just me being ridiculous. Why wouldn't Champa ask him to join? Hit was the best his universe had to offer. I honestly should be more worried about the fact that I keep bringing him up to Shin. I mean sure, I like to confide in everything thats on my mind to Shin, but… I'm sure he was tired of me rambling like a school girl.

After the image battle, Gohan seemed less sure of bringing Krillin, but Goku assured him that Krillin would be fine.

"Alright. If Krillin is joining then why not have 18 as well?" I suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Goku replied.

"Yeah, and there's number 17 too. We should ask 18 where to find him." Gohan added.

"Are you sure that's allowed...? Those two are technically robots, aren't they?" Shin asked. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice as if he was afraid to shut down the idea. Gohan assured Shin that they were human based and just enhanced at a cellular level. Beerus wasn't happy to hear that, but said he didn't care as long as they could help our chances in winning.

"What do you think about adding Goten and Trunks to the team? They seem to have extensive latent abilities." Shin suggested. But Goku turned the idea down, saying that despite their power they didn't have enough experience. Gohan then purposed Master Roshi. My brows drew together at the idea. He definitely had plenty of experience, but… I mean come on. This was Master Roshi we were talking about! But everyone seemed in favor of it so who was I to say otherwise?

"Alright! That makes ten, then!" I said cheerfully.

"Yep! Looks like we're good to go." Gohan said. I was hoping to be able to help Shin in checking out the other planets for fighters, but as long as we got our team filled out then we had one less thing to worry about.

Vegeta suddenly joined us outside, but appeared to be in thought about something. We interrupted his deep thought to ask him to join our team. We explained what kind of tournament it was gonna be and when we'd be leaving. But unfortunately…

"In that case, you'll just have to count me out. I don't know if my child is going to be born by then. Which reminds me, if you planned on being a part of this, Azaelia, then you'll just have to cancel. Bulma wanted me to ask you to help out during the birth." Vegeta said. My brows raised.

"Oh my! Really? That's such an honor. I'd be glad to!" I said happily with my hands together.

"Azaelia." Gohan said in a half whiny tone, bringing me back to the situation at hand.

"Oh, right! I'm sorry! Uhm, Vegeta this isn't something either of us should miss out on." I said.

"Yeah! We get to fight all the best warriors across the cosmo's!" Goku added.

Vegeta caught on to us quickly and asked why we wanted him to join so badly. He knew Goku would rather have this experience for himself rather than share it. Beerus jumped in and ordered Vegeta to enter, but the Saiyan prince didn't budge.

"If you really want me to fight then you'll have to persuade Bulma. Because I'm not going anywhere unless you do!" Vegeta declared. I sighed along with Whis and Shin.

We all headed inside to find Bulma with Chi-Chi. Apparently Whis had a plan.

Vegeta, Gohan, Shin, Goku, and I all watched from the doorway as Whis entered the room. The Angel looked to be concentrating super hard before hovering the top of his staff above Bulma's big stomach. The ball on top of his staff started to glow as he began to let out small chants. Once the chants were over, the glowing brightened. Seconds later and I could feel another new, small energy manifest.

The light died down and Bulma's baby was lowered into her arms. Bulma shushed her crying child and the baby went into a peaceful slumber. I heard Whis say something, but my mind was too preoccupied by the little miracle we were given.

I placed both my hands over my heart as I admired the image in front of me. I smiled at the sight, unknowing of the onyx pair of eyes watching me.

 

~*~

 

*Third Person P.O.V.*

 

Shin stared in awe at the expression the pink Majin had. It's not that the newborn baby wasn't interesting to him, it was just that he'd never seen such a look on her face before.

He turned to look at the baby before shifting his eyes back to the female Majin's face.

He'd remembered hearing her talk of wanting a family before. Something that a majority of her friends had. A companion to spend her life with along with a beautiful kid or two. She talked so fondly of the idea. And now here she was, still thinking happily of the same dream she spoke of.

Although Shin was happy to see her happy, he was unsure of how to feel about this. Of course he wanted Azaelia to be happy. He wanted to see her realize her simple dream and live the ideal life she wanted. But… what troubled him was who exactly she had in mind for that special companion. He had no idea who it could be. Truth be told, he secretly wanted it to be him. But the idea of a Kaioshin, a Supreme Kai no less, starting a family. Especially with a mortal… the idea was foreign and just down right strange.

Shin wondered if Zamasu had the same idea planned for her.

He shook the thought away before going back to his previous thoughts.

Sure the idea was out of the ordinary, but the thought of Azaelia's life mate being anyone else gave Shin a strange feeling. A very bad feeling. He hated feeling it, but it happened every so often. He'd get the feeling a lot when they had to fight Zamasu. Or even strangely, when she talked about Hit.

Shin had no idea what any of his feelings meant. He never knew how to react to any these bad feelings or how to make them go away. He'd never thought about starting a family before. All he knew was that he wanted to stay a part of Azaelia's life and continue to see her smile and live a safe, cozy life. That was Shin's dream.

 

~*~

 

By now everyone had moved outside and few others had joined like Yamcha and Bulma's parents. Gohan had gone to go tell Goten and Trunks about the birth so the three joined in later.

While everyone was enjoying the time together, Shin sensed a feeling of none belonging so he moved over to where the Elder Kai and Beerus were still eating. Azaelia took notice but wasn't sure how to react. Lots of assumptions were going through her mind. Like what if Shin just didn't like kids. But her train of thought became lost once Goku got called out by Chi-Chi for being dead during Goten's birth. She laughed along with everyone else, forgetting all about her troubles for a short while.

"Well I'd say, now there's one more thing we need to fight to protect." Gohan said.

"Yes, definitely." Azaelia agreed.

"Mhm. Mark my words, you two, we're gonna win that Tournament of Power." Goku chimed in.

"You know it!" Gohan replied confidently.

"Right!" Azaelia said with a smile.

Goku then went off to go recruit Krillin and 18. After that, Yamcha approached Gohan and Azaelia to ask what exactly the Tournament of Power was. Gohan saw no way out of telling him so he explained everything about the tournament without giving away any alarming details. Yamcha then left in a big hurry, saying how he had something he needed to do.

"That Yamcha sure is a popular guy, isn't he?" Gohan asked, watching the man fly away.

"Right…" Azaelia said not too confidently. She got along pretty well with Yamcha, but often times would find him to be a bit strange. It was very rare for Azaelia to find things that she didn't understand about the human race. But Yamcha was a special case. He'd do things that were just plain unordinary. Like his weird want to be around lots of women at the same time and now this. Getting excited about the tournament but then leaving immediately after.

Azaelia shook her head. Guess there were just some mysteries that needed to be left unsolved.

She then turned toward Buu who had been eating along with the others. She told Shin that she'd take him back to Hercule's. Shin nodded in understanding and said he'd head back to the Supreme Kai planet to check the other planets for fighters. Although Azaelia wanted to go with him, she knew her responsibilities were important and wished Shin luck.

After Shin flashed away, Azaelia flew off with her father.

 

~*~

 

*Third Person P.O.V. End*

 

"So Papa! Did you have fun?" I asked.

"Yes! Buu have lots of fun!" Papa replied excitedly before punching the air a couple times.

"Buu wanna fight more guys like doggy man!" Papa added. I giggled.

"You will, Papa. Just in a couple days the big Tournament of Power will be held and you will be able fight lots of fighters!" I said cheerfully. Papa let out a sound of excitement.

"Is daughter excited?" Papa asked. I nodded.

"Yes, I am. And I have a really good idea." I replied. Papa gave me a curious look.

After getting back to Hercule's place, I explained to him everything that happened and that Papa would be taking part in the Tournament of Power. I then asked him if it would be alright if we trained on his property. He seemed excited about this whole situation and agreed.

After a few hours of training with Papa, Goku showed up.

"Oh, hello, Goku." I greeted. But Goku seemed to be more interested in Papa's new form.

"Woah…! Oh wow, is that really Buu!?" Goku asked.

"Yep! This was all Azaelia's idea." Hercule replied. I laughed off the embarrassment. Goku then suddenly leaned in closer.

"Wh-what? What is it?" I asked.

"I knew it! You're taller than you were before! You're almost about as tall as I am now." Goku said.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot. It's for the tournament. But besides that... Papa was super excited after the Expo so we've been training for awhile. What do you say to having a quick little match with him right now?" I suggested.

"Sure! I was just about to suggest the same thing myself." Goku said.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea! What do you say, Buu?" Hercule asked.

"Yeah!" Papa exclaimed excitedly.

Papa and Goku then took their positions on Hercule's roof.

"Alright! If either of you go outside the perimeter of my estate, then you lose the match! Got it? Begin!" Hercule shouted.

Papa and Goku then floated up into the air. They threw a couple punches before Goku complimented Papa on his improvement.

"Yeah! Buu strong! Buu will clobber everyone!!" Papa yelled.

"Oh no… Papa, you can't do that! You have to find a way to push them out of the arena in order to win!" I shouted.

"Buu no kill anyone!?" Papa asked.

"That's right, you can't. If you kill anybody then you're disqualified." Goku answered.

"Ohh! Then Buu do this!" Papa said before creating energy balls above his head and sending a huge rain of them straight down toward Goku. Goku blocked as many as he could but didn't look to be getting pushed back. Papa then waited for the right time to charge toward Goku and sent a series of strikes at him before pushing him out of bounds by extending his arms.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"That's my boy Buu! You won the fight big time." Hercule cheered.

With Papa, we'd definitely win this tournament! But… as quickly as my good feeling came, it vanished just as fast. Winning meant that other universes would be erased. I couldn't let that happen to Gowasu and Hit and Cabba and everyone else in the Sixth Universe. I was even starting to feel scared for Top's universe. But I couldn't turn my back on my own universe… What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to feel? There was no good way to look at this. So what was I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do? Why can't I figure out what I'm supposed to do?

"Azaelia!"

"Huh? Oh, my apologies." I said.

"Um, it's fine. I was just saying that I was gonna go track down number 17 now. You know, 18's brother?" Goku asked.

"Oh, yes of course. Good luck." I replied.

"Thanks. Oh and Gohan should be with Piccolo right now. See ya!" Goku informed before taking off. I waved goodbye as he flew away. Just then, Papa let out a big yawn.

"Oh boy. Buu sleepy. Buu need night-night." Papa said.

"Yeah? Well you've been pushing yourself so hard this whole time, Buu." Hercule pointed out.

"Yes, I agree. Why don't you let Papa rest for awhile." I suggest.

"Yeah, he deserves some after everything thats happened. Are you gonna stay for awhile too?" Hercule asked. I shook my head.

"No, I'm going go train with Gohan and Piccolo for awhile." I answered.

"Oh, okay. Well good luck then." Hercule replied.

I said my goodbye to Papa before taking to the skies.

I could feel their energies from here. I smiled. They were already training.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for slow updates. I'm also working on another big project. I wanna make sure it's perfect before I start posting it anywhere.

Piccolo and Gohan had been going at it for awhile. Piccolo had said that he wanted to fight Gohan one-on-one and have me watch for any mistakes Gohan made. It was really surprising to hear Piccolo ask this of me, but who was I refuse a request from my first teacher? If Piccolo trusted my judgement enough then I wasn't going to let him down.

I had my keen sensing abilities on while watching Gohan's every move and thoroughly keeping an eye on him.

Even going Super Saiyan, Piccolo was still stronger than Gohan. Which honestly wasn't too surprising. Piccolo never really stopped training.

Gohan was now panting heavily in the crater Piccolo had put him in.

"I'm not… down yet. I will protect… my friends and my family." Gohan said through pants. One look in his eyes and I understood that Piccolo didn't just want me to watch out for combat mistakes, but also any emotional mistakes.

"You're just psyching yourself up." Piccolo pointed out. Gohan's surprise showed before he looked down at his hands.

"Telling yourself you have to win isn't training, Gohan. It's pointless. You need to face reality and do the real work. If you can't tap into your true power, all the motivation in the world won't be enough to protect Videl and Pan." Piccolo continued.

Gohan looked up at him with more shock before Piccolo turned to me.

"Are you paying attention? I want you to learn this lesson too." Piccolo said. I nodded.

"Yes. Of course." I replied with determination in my voice.

"Having something to defend can drive you, but when feelings dominate, they can just as quickly drag you down. You want your emotions to compliment your strength, not shackle it! If you're too desperate to win, if love makes you afraid, you won't be able to assess the fight logically. You'll misjudge your opponents abilities and lose!" Piccolo said.

Gohan closed his eyes and clutched his fists before crying out and raising his energy.

"There's no such thing as a fight that can't be lost! If we lose, our entire universe will be destroyed! You two must accept that fact and come to terms with it! Only then can you prevail." Piccolo added.

"Alright…" Gohan said. Piccolo then let out a short chuckle.

"You two can do this, I know you can. You can win. I believe in you. Now believe in yourselves." Piccolo said before walking away. Gohan and I stared up in awe at our mentor.

"Piccolo…" I said with happiness in my voice.

"We promise not to let you down. Right, Azaelia?" Gohan asked.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

We then got back to their training. Piccolo asked that I still keep watch over Gohan so I agreed. I guess it was because with Piccolo fighting one-on-one, he'd be able to tell what Gohan was lacking more easier. And maybe I was put on observing duty because I needed more experience rather than strength.

"I think we've both warmed up enough. From here on out, the gloves are off. Come at me as hard as you can!" Piccolo demanded as he threw off his weights.

"Right…!" Gohan replied. He then powered himself up to Super Saiyan Two with a loud yell.

"You're strong. That much I'm aware of. But you have another weakness and unless you can overcome it, you won't last long in the tournament. If you lose, our universe won't be too far behind. I'm going to show you your weakness." Piccolo said before raising his energy. They then began their fight. It didn't last too long, though. Gohan put up a good fight, but Piccolo easily caught him in a lock.

One of Piccolo's arms was wrapped around Gohan's neck while his other hand was holding onto one of Gohan's wrist. I watched on with worried eyes.

"What the matter, Gohan? Is that all you've got? Don't blame me when you black out." Piccolo taunted.

"I'm not giving up yet!" Gohan declared as he struggled. Piccolo's grip tightened and Gohan let out a grunt.

"Piccolo…! When did you get so powerful?" Gohan asked.

"Did you really think I was sitting on my hands all this time? While you had your head burried in some textbook?" Piccolo questioned. Just after Piccolo asked that question, Gohan lost air and passed out. His hair and eyes turned back to their original black.

"Gohan!" I called out worryingly as I flew over to him and Piccolo in a hurry.

Piccolo unwrapped his arm from around Gohan's neck and placed his hand on the half-Saiyan's chest. He then used his energy to revive Gohan. Gohan woke back up, coughing.

"Gohan. It's over." Piccolo said. The half-Saiyan's face expressed displeasure in his loss.

"You're strong, but you lack… well… You just might not have the heart of a true warrior. If there's a chance to win, you have to close the deal. It's an old problem. Remember when you two fought Majin Buu, after the Elder Kai drew out Gohan's power? You were overcome by a different feeling. Arrogance. You'd struggled for so long to unlock your potential that when you did, you enjoyed it too much. Instead of using your strength to win, your arrogance left you open to attack. Succumb to that again and you'll lose no matter how powerful you are. And don't think I'm just talking to him, Azaelia. You're stronger than either of us so this especially applies to you." Piccolo lectured. My expression shifted to determination.

"Right. Of course." I replied.

The faint memories of my long distant training sessions with Piccolo ran through my mind. He was a bit of a harsh mentor, but his ways of teaching were definitely effective.

I then understood why Piccolo had chosen himself to fight Gohan instead of having Gohan and I fight each other. If it had been Gohan and I, then this lesson surely wouldn't have hit as hard. It would have been a test of strength rather than out smarting the other. I may have been older, but Piccolo was definitely the more wiser of either of us.

"Be a warrior! No matter the opponent, you fight with everything you've got!" Piccolo demanded. Gohan's eyes opened up.

"Alright, Piccolo. This time I won't let you down." Gohan said in a serious tone.

Piccolo and I gave Gohan the space he needed to raise his energy. Gohan's hair glowed the familiar yellow color as little electrical sparks flowed around him.

"Ha! I wanna see something even more powerful than just Super Saiyan. Show me the power you had when you fought against Buu!" Piccolo demanded. Gohan continually raised his power.

I then suddenly felt a familiar sensation and a small gasp went passed my lips.

"Yes! There is it! You're almost there! Come on, Gohan!" I yelled out. I watched as his hair flashed black a few times.

"Reawaken the fighter you truly are!!" Piccolo shouted.

Just then, Gohan began to shine brightly. His incredible change caused all the clouds to get blown away and the sun shined down on us. After the light from Gohan died down, I looked at him in awe as his familiar feel of energy brought back old memories.

"How's that? So is this what you wanted to see?" Gohan questioned.

"That's perfect, Gohan." Piccolo replied with a smirk.

There was short silence before Piccolo suddenly got in a fighting position and summoned a whole crowd of clones.

"Azaelia!" Piccolo called out.

"Right!" I shouted back. I put my palms out toward Gohan. All of Piccolo's clones then charged toward Gohan and Gohan turned in all directions to take them all out. While each clone disappeared when Gohan struck them, I along with two other clones fired ki blasts down at the half-Saiyan. Gohan was able to easily knock them all away, though.

While Gohan was distracted, the real Piccolo tried sneaking up behind him to attack. Gohan was easily able to sense his presence and made a backwards slash, cutting off half of Piccolo's arm. His arm went flying off as Gohan and I gasped.

"Piccolo!" I called out before flying forward. I stopped once I noticed something off to the side.

"Yes, that's it… That's good. If you can fight like this in the tournament, then those other universes don't stand a chance against our team." Piccolo said. Gohan's face lit up into a smile.

"Thank you, Piccolo." Gohan said with a sigh of relief.

And just like I thought, Piccolo's cut off hand shot a ki ball straight toward Gohan's back. I countered it by shooting my own attack. They both collided and created an explosion, catching Gohan's attention.

"Gohan… You didn't close the deal." I said with a hint of sadness in my voice. He saw Piccolo's cut off hand floating there and put two and two together.

"It's just like when we fought against Papa's bad side all those years ago. We both thought we had won and so we ended up dropped our guards. And because of that… Papa's bad side absorbed you." I added while looking away. Gohan's eyes widened.

"Azaelia…" Gohan trailed off.

"Its not entirely your fault, though. Your father often makes the same mistake." Piccolo said.

I flew forward a little and lowered my head slightly.

"I apologize, Piccolo. I know you had planned on using that to teach Gohan another lesson, but… I thought… Since we are all going into this tournament together, Gohan won't have to fight alone. We will watch out for each other!" I said with determination. Piccolo closed his eyes.

"Yes, you're definitely right about that. But still. Don't you two forget this. Stay focused. Make sure to keep your guard up until the tournament's over." Piccolo demanded.

"Right." Gohan and I agreed in unison.

"Good. Now let's go again. This time I want you to join in, Azaelia. If you two will be working as a team during the tournament then now is a good time to start." Piccolo said.

We then trained until night time. Over and over, we continually fought against Piccolo's clones, making sure to never leave any openings for either of us.

Once night time fell, we decided to take a break. I created a big grill to cook food on and some fire wood to start a fire with. We then cut off the tail of a sleeping dinosaur to eat.

I found it to be a bit too inhumane so I didn't eat. Azalea didn't have a problem with eating meat, but Zelia couldn't stand the idea, so… I guess that's why now I was extra picky when it came to what types of meat I consumed.

After the dinosaur woke up and ran off crying, Gohan stood up.

"Alright, Piccolo. Thanks again for the training. You too, Azaelia." Gohan spoke up. I tilted my head in confusion.

"Oh, no. You're training is only getting started." Piccolo said.

"What?" Gohan questioned.

Piccolo jumped off of the big rock he was sitting on.

"Listen, I believe that what you tapped into today was actually a fraction of your latent power. We pushed through one wall and now I wanna find the next." Piccolo replied.

"I have to agree with Piccolo. You can definitely go higher than what you did today." I added. Piccolo took a few steps forward.

"Aren't you curious? Don't you wanna know how strong you truly are? Don't settle for better when you could be the best." Piccolo persuaded.

"Yes. The tournament is tomorrow. We still have some time, so let's keep training." I added with a smile. Gohan smiled back.

"Okay. Sure. Why not?" Gohan answered. Piccolo looked pleased to hear his answer.

"Oh, and since the three of us will be hanging out together, maybe we can come up with some combo moves too." Gohan purposed.

"Combo moves, huh?" Piccolo asked.

"Sure! That sounds like a great idea." I said. Piccolo laughed.

"Alright. Why not?" He replied.

 

~*~

 

After a few more hours of training, Piccolo decided to have Gohan test his new found strength. Unfortunately, I was not the right person for it.

I wasn't very happy to admit it, but Goku and Vegeta were stronger than I was. In blue form that is. It was always a close match, but they still somehow managed to beat me every time.

We tracked down Goku and found him at a restaurant with Master Roshi, Tien, and Chaotsu. Once we entered, Goku's face instantly lit up. He jumped from his chair and approached me.

"Oh hey, Azaelia! I've been wanting to ask you something!" Goku shouted.

"Huh? O-oh, sure. What is it, Goku?" I asked.

"Uh, well… You see…" Goku started. He then explained the situation they got caught in earlier.

"So uh, could you please rebuild all the houses and buildings that got destroyed with your magic?" Goku asked with his hands together. My head tilted in confusion. It was a bit strange for Goku to ask something so generous.

Tien stood up from his chair.

"Wait, can you really do that?" Tien asked in disbelief. I looked over at him.

I remembered him from when I was in Other World, observing Goku when he was younger. Of course, Tien and I never officially met so it only made sense that he had no idea of my magical abilities.

"Yes." I replied with a nod. He walked around the table and stood in front of me before bowing.

"I'd be very grateful if you repaired the town. I promise that I'll pay you back in anyway that I can." Tien said. A short, muffled laugh escaped from me. He was surprised by it and looked back up.

"Oh, no, it's quite alright. I don't mind. You don't have to pay me anything. I'd be happy to help out." I replied.

"A-are you sure?" He asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yes. It's no trouble at all." I answered with a smile.

We headed over to the destroyed town and I repaired the buildings just like I promised. Tien thanked me again and Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Master Roshi, and I headed over to a desert area to have the fight Gohan wanted.

We decided to have two teams of two. Gohan and I stood at the opposite end of the mountain arena as Goku and Piccolo.

"Everyone ready? This will be a two on two, battle royale. If you ring out, you lose. And since you're all fighting at once, like in the Tournament of Power, teamwork will be key. If you have any new combo moves, now's the time to try them." Master Roshi explained.

Once Gohan and I got the feel that we were ready, the ground began to rumble and shake. Goku and Gohan got in their usual fighting positions. They were definitely fired up and ready to go.

Oh boy… Saiyans.

Gohan was the first to move. He flew straight toward Goku and threw as many punches and kicks as he could. They fought like that for a few seconds before pulling away.

"You're getting pretty good, Gohan." Goku complimented as Gohan landed back beside me.

"You think so? Cause this is just the beginning." Gohan said in serious tone. It had a slight growl to it. Piccolo looked displeased, but Goku just chuckled.

"Gohan, be careful. Don't you remember what Piccolo told us before?" I warned.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry." Gohan apologized.

"It's okay. Let's just win." I replied before getting into a fighting stance.

"Right!" Gohan agreed.

The fight then began again. While Gohan and Goku fought, I went after Piccolo. I was sure he was going to attempt at charging up a powerful attack while Gohan was distracted, so I didn't give him a chance to.

I used this opportunity to practice using my energy sword. I was still rusty with my sword skills so practicing fighting with one any chance I could get was definitely going to help later.

Luckily, sometime during the fight, Gohan had sent a powerful blast right at Piccolo and I was able to pull away. I used the opportunity to take a strike at Goku. I sent energy into my fist, creating an intense amount of pressure and connecting it with Goku's abdomen. It was the same move I used against Frost during the tournament we had with Universe Six. Unfortunately, Goku had prepared against this move and planted his feet into the ground as he got sent back. I almost ringed him out, but he unfortunately came to a stop before he reached the end of the arena.

Gohan quickly jumped in and tried blasting Goku away with a ki blast, but Goku was able to counteract it with his own.

Goku chuckled.

"Nice combination, guys. I guess with the two of you, you have a shot." Goku complimented. I let out a small laugh.

"Thank you, Goku. But perhaps we should call an end to this match. I mean with that last attack, half of the mountain top ring got destroyed." I pointed out.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Goku replied while smiling with a hand behind his head.

I turned to Gohan only to find a different look in his eyes. He wasn't ready for the fight to stop just yet.

Goku held his hand out to his son.

"You did good, Gohan. Just a quick training session with Azaelia and Piccolo and you've seem to have regained your old fighting chops. That's impressive." Goku complimented. But despite the praise from his father, Gohan didn't look satisfied.

"Dad, wait. I'm not done. Let's go again. You and me, one on one." Gohan demanded in a serious tone. Goku was surprised by his sons suggestion, but didn't look to be opposed to the idea. I looked over at Piccolo and he gave me a nod.

"We'll just be over there with Master Roshi. Have fun, you two." I said while placing my hands on Gohan and Goku's shoulders. I healed them back to full health before Piccolo and I headed over to Master Roshi to observe the fight.

Goku powered up to Super Saiyan Two while Gohan powered himself up to his Mystic form. And for awhile, Gohan was actually able to hold his own. He was doing so well that Goku eventually resorted to his Blue form. My worry began at that point, but it got worse once the familiar red glow blended with Goku's Super Saiyan Blue. It was what Gohan was asking for. Goku's best. But none of that stopped my anxiety from rising. Saiyan's always got carried away when it came to fights. It's what truly defined them.

I continued watching in worry as Gohan flew up toward his father. They traded blows and it took only a couple seconds to determine the winner of the outcome.

Gohan's power dropped rapidly. I gasped just before Gohan fell out of his Mystic form. He tried throwing one last punch, but lost consciousness before he could land it.

As Gohan's body began to fall to the ground, I quickly flew over to catch him. Luckily, Goku had caught him before I could make it. He floated his son back to the ground, still holding him in his arms. As soon as I reached them, I noticed a content smile resting upon Gohan's face. My worry calmed after seeing it and I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding in.

Idiots.

I healed Goku and Gohan from their wounds.

After Gohan woke up and thanked his father for the fight, Goku elected Gohan as the team leader. No one had a single objection.


	6. Chapter 6

"Nicely done, everyone." Shin said as he put up the last picture on the white board.

"We finally have all of our competitors lined up." He added.

Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Elder Kai, Whis, Beerus, and I all sat in the room for the small meeting.

"I must admit, you did a decent job." Beerus complimented as his cheek rested atop his hand.

Goku then asked about Vegeta and where he'd run off to. Apparently he was in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Goku called it unfair that Vegeta would go without him, but Whis pointed out that it was most likely because Goku had been so focused on fighting with others. I didn't see too much of a problem with it. He had been pushing Vegeta aside for awhile now.

Goku started wondering what he could be doing with the amount of time they had left. Elder Kai purposed that he could draw out his untapped abilities just like he had done for Gohan all those years ago, but Shin smartly pointed out that there wouldn't be enough time, considering that the ritual would take at least twenty-five hours. Being the old man that he is, it would make sense that he'd forget something like that.

Goku then asked Whis if he could spar with him for awhile.

"Would you mind if I joined you both?" I asked.

"Not at all." Whis answered.

"Sure, no problem." Goku replied happily.

 

~*~

 

After we finished sparing, I took a quick shower and changed into the new uniform I had decided to wear for the tournament.

I sported a black, sort of thick body suit that stopped below my shoulders, stopped at my thigh, and covered my neck. Gold was around every edge. I also had a black strap around my waist with a gold pendant with the Majin symbol on it. Gold colored gloves, and knee-high boots to match. It all came together with my hair tied up in a traditional ponytail and my red ribbon tied around my neck.

The moment I entered the room, things were already chaotic. Apparently Papa had fallen asleep and Hercule wasn't able to wake him up. So Goku and I headed over to Mr. Satan's house.

Once we entered the room Papa had fallen asleep in, I noticed a mess of items scattered across the floor.

"So what have you tried so far?" Goku asked.

"Various loud noises. And his favorite foods- with dipping sauces!" Hercule replied.

"Oh no… We'll have to think of something else then. He's not gonna be up for another couple months." I said.

"Are you serious?" Goku asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately." I replied.

Mr. Satan then spoke up and boldly offered to replace Papa in the tournament. I told him that we appreciated his offer, but that it wasn't necessary. He was pretty persistent, but luckily Goku and I were able to get him to calm down. Sadly, though, once Mr. Satan was under control, Beerus contacted us through Whis and started throwing a temper tantrum about Papa.

"So, Azaelia. Are you sure there's nothing we can do to wake him up?" Goku asked. I nodded.

"I'm afraid so. As a Majin, I have a pretty good understanding of Papa's biology. Although, I don't sleep as much as Papa, we're almost practically the same. I'm a heavy sleeper as well. You're welcome to try, but I'd rather use this time to find a replacement fighter." I answered. Goku hung his head and gave a short sigh.

"Alright then, let's head back. I'm sure we'll figure out something." Goku said.

After we got back to Bulma's, things got chaotic decently quick.

While everyone was discussing the non-existent "ten-million zeni" prize, Goku tried sneaking away. But I quickly grabbed hold of his wrist to prevent him from flying away and demanded that he tell everyone the truth. Goku thankfully confessed, but in turn, Krillin and 18 decided to drop from the tournament. Thankfully, after a quick quarrel between Goku, Krillin, and a death threat from Beerus, Krillin decided not to quit the team. But 18 was a different matter. Bulma had to offer up some of her own money just so 18 would enter.

"Bulma's prize doesn't change the fact that we're still down a man." Shin pointed out.

"Yes, and we're almost out of time!! There must be someone else!! This universe is enormous! And yet all the decent fighters seem to be on or from this teeny booger of a planet! We wouldn't have such an issue filling that tenth spot if you goody-two-shoes hadn't wiped out the Frieza force!" Beerus shouted.

I honestly doubt any of them would have sufficed. They were all weaker than any of us here. A whole group of them couldn't even take down one of us. Adding someone from the Frieza force would be just as good as leaving the spot empty. But… at least we would have had the spot filled.

If we really needed a spot filled then we could ask Tien real quick. He'd definitely say yes. Although… there was someone I had in mind that would be better than Tien.

No. No, I can't.

If I brought him here and had Goku and Vegeta find out about him, that would cause some serious complications after the tournament. Not to mention his father…

Knowing our universe would survive was making this more stressful than relieving.

Before I could think of anyone else, Goku purposed an idea for the remaining spot.

"Lord Beerus, thanks to you, I know who to ask! It's Frieza! That's who we should get. He can be the tenth fighter on our team." Goku said with a big smile.

"FRIEZA!?" Everyone yelled out in unison.

"Woah, Goku! I know we're getting a little desperate, but are you sure about that? Frieza-!" I stopped myself once I remembered something like this in Other World. It was how I found out about the tournament from King Yemma. I remember him telling me about Goku coming to him and asking to take Frieza for some tournament. I brushed it off as nothing and told him I didn't care as long as Pikkon and I didn't have to deal with him anymore. King Yemma said it was temporary, but Frieza ended up not coming back to Other World for a long while.

This was meant to happen.

"Actually… I think we should recruit him." I spoke up. Everyone turned to me with surprised expressions.

"Azaelia, you too?" Gohan asked. I nodded.

"Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but… I can't think of anyone better than Frieza to fill the spot." I replied. And it was the complete truth. Sure there was Bardock, Totoa, Raditz, Pikkon, and even Cooler. But none of them were on the same level as Frieza when it came to his Golden form.

"A-Azaelia…? P-please forgive my saying so, but… I-I can't see very much wisdom in this plan. I honestly don't believe Frieza will do as he told and help us." Shin said. I looked down at him.

He was so short now… I hated this. I just wanna get this tournament over with so I can go back to my original height. This was making me too uncomfortable.

I smiled to help ease his concern.

"Please, don't worry, Shin. With the circumstances being what they are, Frieza may not like it, but he won't have much choice." I said.

"That's right, Supreme Kai. Frieza is always thinking of himself so he won't want the universe to be destroyed hours after he's come back. He'll have no other choice but to fight." Goku added.

Krillin protested by saying that Frieza would try something evil the first chance he got, but Goku assured him that Frieza wouldn't be able to do anything as bad as having the whole universe erased.

"Hmph. Can't say the same for, Azaelia, but it's not like you to act this pitifully desperate, Kakarot." Vegeta started.

"What!?" I shouted, placing my hands on my hips. Vegeta ignored me and continued talking.

"Usually you'd be confident in your own strength. Get some weakling for that spot. We'll win this ourselves. Or have you gone soft?" Vegeta asked as his eyes narrowed. Goku stared back for a couple tense seconds before looking toward the table.

"Excuse me, Whis!" Goku called out.

"Yes?" Whis answered.

"Do you think the Seventh Universe could win the tournament as we are now?" Goku asked.

"That's a good question, Goku. I confess I don't know enough about the all other universes to answer. Although, I have heard rumors one of the other universes has produced mortals so strong, even their own Destroyer can't defeat them. Unless you get the wrong idea, this Destroyer in question is even stronger than Lord Beerus. " Whis answered, whispering at the end. He then stifled a couple chortles. Beerus grumpily brushed off his attendant and claimed that it was only a single arm wrestling match that he lost.

"So does that settle it? According to what Whis just said, it appears that we do need Frieza." I said.

"Yep! We'll be just fine! Even if Frieza does turn on us, we'll handle it. Me, Azaelia or Vegeta will take him down. Right?" Goku asked, looking to me.

"Right!" I replied happily. Goku and I then looked at Vegeta. He was startled by the sudden attention. He quickly turned away and let out a huff.

 

~*~

 

*Shin P.O.V.*

 

Even after Goku left, my mind was still troubled by the decision to recruit probably the most evil being to exist in all twelve universes. Azaelia didn't sound the least bit concerned. Usually she'd be more wary. She sounded like she was going to protest to the idea of recruiting Frieza, but she had changed her mind. I wonder what could have caused her sudden turn around…

"Shin?"

My eyes averted upward and moved over to meet a pair of purple ones. Her forehead was slightly wrinkled.

"You're still concerned about Frieza, aren't you?" She asked. Her voice held slight worry, but was somehow comforting at the same time. I couldn't stop the small smile from forming on my face.

"I can't lie. I am a little nervous about this decision." I replied. Her smile grew a little bigger as she put her hands behind her back and leaned in closer.

"Well, it'll all be okay. I promise. Frieza won't lay a hand on anyone. I'll make sure to keep you and everyone safe." Azaelia assured. She then lightly held onto the red ribbon she had tied around her neck.

"I made a promise. Not only to myself, but to someone else really important to me too. I'll protect you and the others with everything I have. You don't need to worry about a thing, Shin." She added. Her soft voice and comforting smile were more than enough to calm my nerves. I stood there with a warm feeling growing inside my chest and slightly widened eyes. There was no mistaking this feeling. It had been there for years. Ever since the day I first laid eyes on her. I couldn't ignore it any longer.

Azaelia and Gohan decided to eat something before they had to leave for the tournament. That was when I was approached by my great ancestor.

"Couldn't bring yourself to say anything AGAIN, huh?"

I was too ashamed to answer and just looked down to the ground.

"What's holding you back, hmm? You afraid of a little rejection?" My great elder asked. My body tensed up.

"I'd… be lying if I said otherwise." I admitted.

"Well, don't be!" My ancestor shouted. I flinched from his sudden outburst.

"You're a great catch, boy. Have more confidence in yourself. Besides, you'll never know until you try." He added. I picked my head up and looked at him.

He was right.

I gave him a nod in response.

"Thank you, great ancestor. I'd been considering telling her how I feel ever since the incident with Zamasu. It's been hard trying to find the right time or how to even go about it. But… I feel like I've finally made a decision." I said. The last part came out with a little more confidence. I then turned to my great ancestor in earnest while balling my fists up.

"I'm going to confess to her after the tournament!" I declared in determination.

 

~*~

 

*Shin P.O.V. End*

 

"How did it go with Frieza, Goku? Based on your calm mood, I assume he agreed." I said.

"Yep! He's on board." Goku answered.

"I'm surprised that power mad villain actually agreed to your twenty-four hour parol idea." Vegeta commented. Goku gave a light chuckle.

"Yeah, me too. Well, I figured even Frieza wants a change of pace. Better to get one day off than be stuck there forever, right?" Goku asked with a laugh hidden in his voice. Bulma leaned in closer to him.

"You're hiding something, I just know it." Bulma said.

"Goku. We always know when you're lying." Shin joined in with a hint of scorn in his voice. Vegeta slammed his hand on the table.

"Out with it. Give us the truth, right now." Vegeta demanded.

Now everything made sense.

"Oh, Goku. Please don't tell me you did what I think you did…!" I said in a whiny tone. Goku laughed nervously.

"How'd you know?" Goku asked with a hand behind his head.

"Enough stalling! What did you do, Kakarot!?" Vegeta questioned. I nudged Goku's shoulder.

"Well, uhh, don't be mad, but… I promised Frieza that if our universe survived the Tournament of Power, I'll gather up the Dragon Balls and wish him back permanently." Goku answered.

"What!?" Vegeta exclaimed as Krillin spit out the water he was drinking.

"You moron! Are you nuts!?" Vegeta yelled.

"Yeah! You know he's just going to go right back to his old evil ways!" Krillin shouted.

"How are you so stupid!?" Bulma questioned.

"You don't have to get so angry…" Goku grumbled. Whis then jumped in and claimed that the move Goku made was a wise one.

I agree that it was a dumb move in retrospect, but I wasn't too worried about Frieza coming back to life. It's a smile price to pay for not having our universe destroyed.

 

~*~

 

After making sure Trunks didn't find out about the tournament and convincing him that Frieza was good, Goku came in and asked Trunks to watch over the island that 18's brother always protected. Trunks happily agreed and rushed off to go get Goten.

Once Goku left to go get Frieza, Krillin and 18 went off to pick up 17 and drop off the kids.

I wanted nothing more than to go with Goku to Other World. To be able to see everyone again… It was killing me. I missed them all so much. But I knew I couldn't give in.

When 17 arrived, memories of watching everyone battle against 17 and 18 flowed through my mind. I was starting to feel a bit nervous, but thanks to Gohan reassuring everyone, I felt more at ease.

"Would you give up on this teamwork garbage! I'd rather cru-" Vegeta started. I quickly turned around to face him as I curled my hand into a fist.

"Shut up!!" I shouted. I turned back around and watched as Piccolo flew down from the balcony to greet 17. I felt my anxiety rise up again. But, to my and Gohan's relief, Piccolo and 17 welcomed each other peacefully and shook hands. Shortly after, Master Roshi arrived. The only people we were waiting on now was Goku and Frieza. I could sense Frieza's disgusting energy from here.

Beerus was getting extra impatient since they were taking too long, but once we sensed Frieza transform into his Golden form, Beerus decided to take things into his own hands. He left to go retrieve them, but shortly after, I sensed a battle raging between Frieza and Goku. I was really starting to get annoyed at that point.

Soon, I could sense them approaching.

When Frieza took his first couple steps onto the balcony, I took a step to my left, making sure I was in front of Shin.

"Well, well, well. How pleasant to see familiar faces here to say hello." Frieza greeted. My brows furrowed.

Beerus gave Frieza a quick warning and the tailed tyrant reassured the Destruction God that he'd behave himself.

"I like the way that halo looks on you, Frieza." Vegeta mocked. Frieza's anger by that comment was obvious by his twitching eye and vein bulging from his head. He then turned his sounds of anger to chuckles then out loud laughter.

"Thank you, but we both know it would look even more fetching on a prince. Shall I give you one?" Frieza asked.

"Go ahead!" Vegeta called out as he got in a ready-to-fight stance.

"Don't even think about fighting him!" Piccolo interjected as he stood at Vegeta's side. I joined him.

"He's right, Vegeta. We don't have the time for something like this." I added. It was Goku's turn to step in.

"Hey, Frieza. You can't pick fights with your new teammates." Goku scorned.

"Let me make it perfectly clear, I don't take orders from a primate." Frieza replied. He then turned in my direction.

"But speaking of teammates… I knew you appeared familiar the last time I came to Earth. You wouldn't happened to be related to the one who watches over Hell, would you?" Frieza asked in a sort of intruiged way.

I knew this would happened. Why wouldn't it?

I turned to face him and decided to play this the only way I knew how.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't have a single clue who you're referring too. I've never been to Other World, nor do I associate myself with anyone in Hell." I replied. Frieza's eyes narrowed slightly, but his twisted smile never faded.

"Ohh? I see. Well then…" Frieza started as he approached me. I held my ground and upped my guard. He then floated upward and leaned into my ear.

"I wonder what my dear brother would have to say to that."

My eyes grew from the sudden mention.

I drew my hand back and created an energy blade. Frieza immediately jumped back just before I could slice him in half. His laughter rang out as Gohan joined me at my side.

"Azaelia, don't!" Gohan exclaimed as he blocked me from making any further advances. I didn't bother trying to move past him, but kept my energy blade active.

"Azaelia…? Please." Gohan protested in a more calmer tone.

It was true that I had a sort of connection with Frieza's brother. But it wasn't anything special. Cooler helped me from time to time, but it's not like we were an item or anything. I agreed to let Cooler have as much freedom as he wanted in Hell as long as he agreed to help me beat Frieza and restrain him. We fought alongside each other a couple times due to Frieza dying and also when I needed help fighting Cell. And… I also had to admit that due to my tough personality back in Other World… I had a strange attraction to Cooler and his personality. But it never went beyond that. I honestly doubt he ever even knew.

I let out a sigh, signaling I'd given in to Gohan's plea, before releasing the energy in my hand. I held onto my elbows and looked down at the ground to avoid everyone else's eyes.

"Thank you, Azaelia." Gohan said in a soft tone. I then felt a hand on my shoulder. My body tensed up. Judging by the energy, I knew it was Piccolo. But all the weight of his hand did was make me feel even worse. Had his lesson from earlier not sunken into me yet…?

"Frieza. Listen closely because I don't like repeating myself. I don't know what you said to her, but that doesn't matter. Unfortunately, for this tournament, we're going to have to work together. But if you continue to provoke her… then I promise you… You'll have me to deal with." Gohan warned. His voice was calm, but wasn't soft. Frieza didn't look too intimidated, though.

I took a step forward. Piccolo removed his hand as I continued walking ahead.

I had just made it to Gohan when he reached his hand out. I held up my hand, signaling him to stop. I averted my attention to him and looked into his eyes with a determined expression. He understood and gave a nod in return.

I continued forward until I finally reached Frieza. I put my hands behind my back and leaned into his ear.

"If you mention a word about the Majin in Other World to the others, I'll make sure there isn't a single atom of you left to resurrect."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda disappointed in the whole situation that's going on at Funimation. Vic Mignogna and the sexual allegations. Just so everyone is aware, I'm not going to say who's side I'm on. I have been keeping myself up to date with the case, but too many people have been asking where I stand on the matter.
> 
> Also, if you feel the need to voice your opinion, please make sure you do it respectfully.

"Alright, everyone. Now that we're all finally in one spot, let's discuss our strategy for winning the tournament." Shin suggested as he joined us.

"There's nothing more to discuss." Vegeta spoke up. Shin looked at the Saiyan in surprise. My body tensed up.

"We down the strongest fighters as soon as we can. That's our strategy." Vegeta added.

"Hey!!" I yelled out, putting my hands on my hips.

"Listen, Vegeta! I'm not anymore happier working with Frieza than you are. Find any kind of motivation you can, I don't care!! But the Supreme Kai of our universe has generously come up with a plan to help us win, so the least you could do is HEAR HIM OUT!!" I shouted. I was in his face at this point. Vegeta scoffed as he turned away and folded his arms.

"Whatever. Since you're acting so desperate, I'll listen." He grumbled. Shin let out a frustrated sounding sigh.

"Thank you, Azaelia." Shin said kindly before explaining the idea him and Gohan had come up with earlier. But Goku and Vegeta were against the idea of avoiding one-on-one fights.

"I don't care if it's an honorable fight or not! All that matters is that we win!!" Beerus shouted.

There honestly wasn't any point in arguing. Goku and Vegeta were pure blooded Saiyan's. And as someone who has spent more than a million years of my life living and dealing with them, the one big thing I learned that there was no sense in telling a Saiyan how they should handle a fight. Even Totoa had developed a different style than what I had originally taught her.

"Alright, Team Seventh Universe! It's time to go to the Null Realm!" Whis called out happily as he waved around a small red flag with a seven on it.

"To make a long story short, you're not allowed to fight alone! You jerks got that!?" Beerus yelled.

"O-kay! I'd like everyone to join hands and form a circle." Whis instructed.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road." Goku said, signaling everyone to move.

"Woah! Hold on!" Vegeta called out as everyone walked ahead to form a circle.

I joined the others and before I knew it, I was stuck between Whis and Shin. My cheeks grew warm as I realized what that meant.

 

~*~

 

*Third Person P.O.V.*

 

"Come now, boy! Quit being such a pansy!" Elder Kai shouted. The Supreme Kai looked at the older Kai with an expression sitting between nervousness and fear.

"B-but, great ancestor…!" Shin protested.

"Are you seriously nervous!? You've hugged her plenty times! How is this any different!?" Elder Kai questioned.

"Well…" Shin looked down at his hand. Hugs were one thing. But holding hands was something different. He didn't know much about how relationships worked. In fact, he was practically clueless. But, in his gut, even he could tell that holding hands with someone you like was a completely different step than a hug.

"You're supposed to confess to her around an hour from now and at the pace you're going, it'll never happen." The older Kai complained in a flat tone.

He was right. And Shin knew it. He'd come up with a back up plan just in case their universe were to be erased. But he had such a short time to prepare. He had to pull himself together or he'd never get to tell Azaelia how he felt.

"Yes. You're right, great ancestor." Shin said before facing the pink Majin. He then took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Okay. Here I go." 

He took a few steps forward and held his hand out. She was already holding onto Whis's hand by the time she turned to face him. Her purple eyes connected with his black ones.

Shin smiled. Azaelia realized the situation and felt blood rush to her cheeks. Both felt incredibly nervous, but decided to use the excuse that Whis instructed it to push themselves to grabbed hold of each other's hands. Azaelia was so distracted by the sudden situation that she hardly noticed Vegeta's dilemma.

After Beerus thankfully put himself between Vegeta and Frieza, the Universe Seven team were transported to the Null realm.

Once they arrived, Goku let out a happy noise.

"Wow… So this is the Null realm…?" Gohan asked in amazement.

It was nothing but pitch blackness. The only thing allowing us all to see was a fake sun lighting up the arena.

After wondering about why a few of the other universe Destroyers were building the stage, two more universe teams teleported onto the arena. Beerus then complained to Whis about forcing their team to hold hands when it wasn't necessary.

Soon, 18 alerted the others to look off the edge of the arena. Everyone looked down to see nothing but more darkness. Whis then reminded them that once the tournament started, falling off the ring meant being disqualified.

"Okay? What's to stop us from flying back up?" Vegeta questioned.

"The limiter…" Azaelia spoke up as she stared down at her hands.

"It's quite a small one, but I can still feel it. Just faintly though. It's suppressing our abilities to fly." Azaelia added before looking up at Vegeta.

"Woah, really? Man, that sucks." Goku complained.

Whis informed his team that the whole point was to push your opponents out of the ring, so in turn the Grand Zeno's went to a great effort to disable flying.

"How come those guys are flying?" 17 asked, pointing at another universe with his thumb. Whis answered by saying that their ability to fly was a physical ability and not a skill that requires energy. He then added that each fighter should feel the same gravity as the planet they were born on.

"Well then, we must be going now. Lord Beerus and I will be in the spectator seating." Whis said as he floated upward. Just as Beerus shouted at Whis for flying, Shin turned to Azaelia.

"The moment of truth is here. Good luck." Shin said. Azaelia nodded and gave him a smile.

"Thank you. I promise I won't let you down!" She replied. He smiled back instinctively. He didn't doubt her words for a second.

He then turned toward the others.

"Good luck to the rest of you." Shin said as he floated upward along with the Elder Kai.

 

~*~

 

*Third Person P.O.V. End*

 

"Miss Azalea, hey! It's been awhile. How have you been?" Cabba asked.

"I've been just fine. Oh, and it's Azaelia now." I replied politely. Cabba tiltled his head in confusion. Before he could ask, a couple of his teammates walked up to us.

"Cabba, who's this?" A girl with black spiky hair asked snarkily. There was another female behind her with tanner skin and her hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Huh? Oh, this is… Azaelia. She's from Universe Seven. And…" Cabba introduced before holding his hand up to hide his mouth and whispering something to his friend. When he did, I noticed her eyes widen along with her shy friend behind her. They both looked at me curiously before the girl standing next to Cabba laughed. I looked down at Cabba.

"Hey, Hit!" The girl suddenly shouted. Hit, standing a few feet away opened his eyes to look at the girl. She then held her thumb up to him.

"Cabba?" I asked. He looked at me with a nervous smile.

"Oh, i-its nothing, miss Azaelia! Just a little joke. It's nothing really! A-anyway! This is Caulifla. And that's Kale." Cabba introduced.

"Yo!" Caulifla greeted. I smiled.

"Female Saiyans, huh? Well, it's very nice to meet the both of you." I replied. Though Caulifla was pretty intriguing, her friend Kale caught my attention the most. She had almost the same sort of timid personality that Totoa had, but her energy was something different. Her hidden power reminded me of another certain someone back in my universe.

I'd have to keep my eye on her.

After Cabba said he was going go off to greet Vegeta with his friends, I found myself being pulled over to the silent assassin nearby.

"Hello, Hit." I greeted happily but softly. His eyelids lifted and our eyes locked.

"It's really nice to see you again. You look to have been doing well." I continued. His expression changed slightly, but it was one I couldn't quite read. He didn't look upset or bothered though.

I was never good at small talk.

I put my hands behind my back and looked back at my team with a simple smile.

"You know... I know it may seem strange for me to say this with our universes being on the line, but…" I paused for a short second to look back up at the red-eyed assassin.

"I can't wait to kick your butt later." I said teasingly with a confident happiness. Hit closed his eyes as he let out a huff of a laugh.

"Is that so?" He asked. I gave a confirming nod.

"Yep!"

"We shall soon see then, won't we?"

We continued talking for a short while longer. He obviously wasn't someone to enjoy small talk so I had to find ways to keep the conversation heavy by talking about the dilemma with Zamasu we had awhile back. I kept out the part about Zamasu being supposedly in love with me.

Hit seemed a little intruiged to hear about a God being a villain, as anyone would be. But at least now he knew why I had half mortal and half God energy. I honestly wasn't very proud of it as I should be. To be completely honest, I found it a bit embarrassing. I was in a category all on my own. I wasn't a mortal, nor a God. Plus, it felt more like a mark, constantly reminding me of what happened. I was more of a freak now than ever.

Hit and I just finished our conversation and were about to move on to the next when the team of Universe Eleven arrived.

The fear that coursed through my body in that instant was nothing compared to the energy I felt. In fact, the energy was so intense, I couldn't feel anything at all. Nothing but the energy.

We can't win this.

My breathing quickened its pace and I felt my head start to pound in pain.

We can't win.

I could hear voices from the people around me, but none of them were making sense.

We can't win.

My vision became blurred and everything around me was nothing but a blob of flowing colors.

We can't-!

I felt a hand forcefully grab hold of my shoulder then a familiar energy coursed through me like a jolt of electricity. My mind instantly became blank and I was slowly brought back into reality.

Once I realized I was in Hit's pocket time dimension, I felt tears begin to form.

Thank you… Hit.

His brows were furrowed, but he didn't look to be upset with me.

Thank you, Hit.

It was almost a worried expression, but not quite there. It also appeared as if he was just cautiously waiting to see what I did next.

Thank you.

Even though the words somehow couldn't make it out of my mouth, I kept repeating them over and over.

Thank you…

Once the realization of what just happened sunk in, I felt my knees cave under me. Hit followed as he bent down on one knee.

I felt a small pain in my chest. I was still scared. Of course. Why wouldn't I be? This energy was more compact than most of the God's of Destruction here. The person this energy belonged to must be the one Top was referring to. And… also the one Whis spoke of.

Jiren the Gray.

I stared over at the Universe Eleven team. Jiren was just out of view. Top and a couple of his teammates were blocking my view of him completely.

This energy was completely unforgettable. There's no possible way I could ever forget an energy like this. But I didn't recognize it. Not in the slightest.

Dammit! If we were going up against someone like him then how the hell did we win?

No, Azaelia, relax. There had to have been some way. Some possible way… The first thing I need to do though before anything else is keep a leveled head.

I averted my attention back over to Hit. He was waiting so patiently. His expression didn't seem to have changed.

I looked down at the ground to avoid his eyes as a feeling of guilt hung over me.

"Thank you…" I spoke out softly. It was so deadly quiet that I could hear him release a small breath. Probably just to assure me that he accepted my apology.

I looked up to find a few others around us. Magetta, Botamo, and even Gohan. More guilt washed over me. I looked back down to the ground before closing my eyes and letting out a sad sigh through my nose.

I shifted my eyes up and met with Hit's before giving him a nod. He understood and we both got to our feet.

After we exited from his time dimension, I had to find a way to calm Gohan down and assure everyone that I was okay. I didn't get very far after I watched Goku happily approach the Eleventh Universe and strike up a conversation with Top. Most likely to ask him for the match they never got to have.

I felt fear creep back up inside me. I knew exactly what was about to happened. He just couldn't ever help himself. Goku wasn't any different from Bardock in that aspect.

And just like I had expected, Goku called out to Jiren. In the blink of an eye, Jiren appeared behind Goku and said something I couldn't catch. Not even Goku saw it coming.

Without even thinking, I rushed over to them and shoved Goku away. He went shooting off a few yards away. I wanted nothing more than to keep my friend away from the danger he was unaware of. But immediately after, I realized I had walked right into the fire. The belly of the beast, as I've heard others put it.

My heart stopped.

His energy was nothing like I'd ever sensed. Though that line may be overused, it never stopped being true. And this instance wasn't any different.

Being a foot away gave me a perfect feel of his energy. I could sense every detail and every small bit of it terrified me.

It was so calm yet full of incredible rage. It harbored intense anger but still somehow sustained it's composed demeanor. It was… abnormal. But in a natural way. Nothing yet everything made sense about it. I could understand all of it, but somehow knew little about it.

Once my head was fully turned around, I got a full view of his profile. He was so simple looking. No distinct features to speak of. Well… except his eyes. They were huge. And terrifying.

I felt nothing but fear the moment we made eye contact. My whole body was frozen.

I was right. I've never seen this being before in my life.

After I found it hard to breathe again, I was thankfully pulled away before I could have another panic attack.

"Ah, young miss. I see you've met with the one I spoke of during the Expo." Came a somewhat familiar voice. Despite how hard it was for me to look away, my surprise in Top's sudden appearance forced me to look up at him.

I took a couple steps back to help keep my distance from Jiren. No matter how comforting the voice or the person, there was no way I could calm my nerves enough and stop being petrified of the being standing a couple feet away from me.

It took me a few seconds to respond.

"…o-oh… Yes… Yes, I have." I replied, trying to stabilize my voice.

Top gave a sigh and folded his arms before looking off in the direction I sent Goku in.

"And I see you still associate yourself with…"

Just before Top could even finish his statement, a whole bunch of blocks came zooming past us.

I grabbed onto both of my arms and moved my eyes down to the ground.

What the hell was his problem…? Why did he care anyway? And did he seriously believe that I was going to stop being friends with everyone just because he thought they were evil? He doesn't even know Goku! Although I respect Top, he has no right to say anything.

"Azaelia, are you okay?" Came a voice. Gohan. I gripped my arms tighter.

"Listen, Top. I know you mean well, but… no matter what you say, my friends are my friends. And I'll protect them no matter what." I said, trying to hide the fear in my voice. Immediately after I said that, I could feel Jiren's energy faintly flinch. I then hurriedly turned away and grabbed hold of Gohan's arm.

"Come on." I said in a soft tone before walking away with him. He thankfully didn't protest.

I knew he was worried. Why wouldn't he be? It's not that I couldn't talk to him about everything that was bothering me. It's just that nothing could be done about any of it. Besides. The only thing that could make all of this better was just for everyone I cared about to be out of danger again. That's all I needed.

I'm so sorry, Gohan…

 

~*~

 

*Gohan P.O.V.*

 

One minute she was on the verge of having a panic attack, and the next, she was almost completely fine.

I kept asking Azaelia if she was alright. She tried reassuring me over and over that she was fine. But I wasn't convinced. I'd never seen her so scared before. I've never seen her hyperventilate.

She'd been acting so strange and different ever since she came back from helping Trunks in his timeline. I remember she hugged me extra hard and almost looked like she was going to cry. I thought maybe she'd just had a hard time fighting whatever enemy her and the others faced, but then she said she was glad to see me again and that she'd been missing me. She even picked up a fancier way of speaking. Not to mention her sudden fear in bugs now. She used to be able to pick up spiders and let bees land on her finger without a single problem. Now she can't even look at a cockroach without screaming. I've been worried about her ever since…

I talked to Piccolo about her and he noticed her strange change as well. He told me he was worried about her too.

I wanted to ask her what happened to her in Trunks's timeline, but Piccolo advised against it. He said she'd come to us in her own time. Azaelia isn't one to keep a secret unless it was necessary, so I let it go.

But after what I just witnessed, I'm not sure how much longer I can take watching her go on like this. I know this situation doesn't have anything to do with her change, but I have to know. I'm her big brother. Her problems are my problems. I can't let her go through this alone.

Before I could continue and ask her anything else, Azaelia suddenly took off.

"Azaelia!" I called out to her. But she didn't stop. I watched as she surprisingly pushed my father away from another universe's team. The team where the overbearing energy was. She was completely out of my view now.

It's no surprise that my dad loves meeting new fighters. Especially ones with strong energy. I guess Azaelia was trying to prevent my dad from talking with whoever this powerful energy belonged to. After all, no one can sense how dangerous this enemy is better than her. And she's always so protective of the people she cares about.

I continued to watch. Waiting to see if she'd appear again. But after a few seconds, my worry got the best of me. I took one step forward before coming to almost an immediate stop. I turned around and faced the purple-skinned being behind me. He was also watching, but in a discreet yet obvious way. Like he didn't want anyone to know he was observing, but also didn't care if anyone happened to notice. But his attention averted to me a second later.

"Excuse me." I started out. I remembered him from when he came to fight dad that one time. I'd seen Azaelia talking to him just before he left. Piccolo told me his name was Hit and that he was an assassin. I was pretty worried once I heard that. Piccolo then told me about how Azaelia saved Hit's team from being erased during the tournament between our universe and Universe 6.

I didn't know who this man was at all. But… judging by the way Azaelia approached and talked to him earlier, she seemed to trust him.

"I'd like to thank you. I'm not sure what you did, but you seemed to have been able to calm her down pretty quickly. So… I want to thank you for that. I've never seen her like that before." I said. The last part came out sounding more sad than I had liked.

He replied with a nod.

After another member of the Universe 11 team approached Azaelia, she finally came into view after she took a couple steps back. I could see the uncomfortable look on her face.

After I approached her and asked if she was okay, she said something to someone she called Top and pulled me away. She didn't look at me as we walked back to our team. Just stared at the ground.

After a few silent seconds, she finally said something.

"Gohan… I… I'm glad you decided to wear that outfit. It's the same one that you wore when you were a kid. It brings back a lot of memories…" She said. My brows drew together as my worry and confusion set in.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Sure, she knew Piccolo trained me when I was a kid, but-… there's no way she could have known…

Suddenly her eyes grew a little big, as if she just realized something. Then as quickly as the expression came, it faded fast into a look of regret.

"S-sorry! I-I'm just-… I…" She trailed off. It looked like this was more than what I was expecting. Seeing her trying to push herself wasn't the ideal way for this to happen.

I stopped just a couple yards away from our team. Azaelia stopped after I did and looked at me with an anxious expression.

"Listen, Azaelia. Whatever it is, we can talk about it after the tournament. I'd rather have you tell me when you're ready. Piccolo and I suspected something happened to you in Trunks's timeline and we've both been worried. Please, don't try to force it out. You can tell us whenever you feel like you're able to." I said. Her expression saddened.

I gave her a grin.

"Okay?" I asked. She closed her eyes and held in tears before replying with a nod.

"Okay."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about not updating for a long time. Life has just gotten incredibly difficult the last two months. Depression is keeping me from doing what I love. I've been trying my best and would love nothing more than to keep writing. I hope you all can understand and keep being patient. I'm sorry once again. Writing stories is so much fun and I wanna keep doing it. Not only for me but for the ones who enjoy what my imagination has to offer.

After a quick introduction for each team and a very… inspiring opening from Grand Zeno, The Grand Minister laid down the guidelines for the tournament.

"Listen up, guys!" Gohan called out. Everyone's attention shifted over to him.

"We're gonna follow the Supreme Kai's advice. We'll stick together and work as one unified team, got it? We should start out forming a circle with our backs to each other and no matter what, we'll take 'em on in groups of two or more. Nobody fights alone." Gohan instructed.

I could hear Vegeta mumble under his breath how unhappy he was about the strategy. Frieza didn't sound like he was going to be going along with the plan either.

I took in a breath. Just ignore them, Azaelia. There are more important things to worry about.

"Now if all competitors from each eight universes could assume their starting positions." The Grand Priest's voice rang out.

There was a long tension in the air as every fighter awaited the signal. I could feel the energies of everyone around me tense up and become on guard. It almost became unbearable to feel everyone's overexcitement, until finally…

"Let the Tournament of Power…!! Begin!!"

The moment the tournament was started, everyone moved and enemies clashed. It was so abrupt that I actually got scared. There was nothing but random explosions of energy going on around me. It was almost like popcorn.

"Oh boy! Looks like all Hells breaking loose, huh?" I heard Goku say. I turned to look at him, but the moment I did, he took off.

"Goku!" I called out.

"Hey, dad, wait!" Gohan shouted.

And just like I thought he would, Goku ran straight for Top. Unfortunately for him, another fighter jumped in his way and challenged him before he could get to Top.

"What happened to teamwork, dad!? Did you completely forget about our strategy!?" Gohan questioned. A second later and 17, along with 18, Vegeta, and Frieza took off.

"Aw, come on, now! You too!?" Gohan asked. I sighed.

"Oh no…" I half groaned. I honestly wasn't surprised. I mean thinking that they weren't going to go off on their own was like expecting the Earth's sky not to be blue on a bright, cloudless day.

"What the-… We had a plan." Gohan said. I put a hand on his shoulder as Roshi assured him that it was fine. Once I turned my attention back to the other fighters, I immediately noticed someone close by. I took an instinctual step forward before coming to a stop.

No… I can't leave. This is the plan we need to follow. The others need me. We need to work as a team.

I took a step back.

I need to stay here. I need to follow the plan.

"You can go."

"Huh?" I asked as I looked to my right.

"Go on ahead. It's okay."

"But, Gohan…" I started to protest. He shook his head.

"It's fine. Really. We'll be okay. No need to worry, little sis." Gohan replied. I looked down at the ground.

"Okay. I believe you, but-… I-It's not only that…" I stammered. I then felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked back at Gohan to find him looking upward. My eyes followed his and landed on the stands where all the Gods and Angels observed from.

Shin was smiling down at me. After seeing his nod of approval, I felt a warmth develop inside my chest. I smiled before giving him a nod in return. I then turned back to Gohan.

"Thank you!" I said happily.

"Sure." He replied with a laugh in his voice.

I excitedly hurried through the crowd of fighters and helped Hit take down a spinning robot from Universe 3.

~

"What was that about?" Lord Beerus questioned somewhat lazily without taking his eyes off the stage.

"Yeah. Now she's off with that handsome Hit fellow." Elder Kai added. Shin looked at the two with a sort of startled expression.

"I-I just want her to enjoy herself a little. She's been overstressing lately and I want her to at least have what little fun she can. She loves fighting almost as much as Goku does. I just wish it didn't have to be like this." Shin replied before looking back down at the arena. Lord Beerus gave a small snort of disapproval.

"Yeah, well… she's definitely going to be having fun now that she's with that feller." Elder Kai grumbled. Shin let out a quiet sigh at his ancestors comment. He continued watching as Azaelia began to fight Hit. She was smiling. He couldn't help feeling a bit of relief. Not only was she doing well against Hit, but she also looked genuinely happy. That's all he could really ask for.

~

"Your hits are heavy." Hit complimented. A small giggle slipped out of me.

"Need me to hold back a little more?" I joked. I could hear a quiet, short chuckle come from him before I felt a familiar sensation.

I quickly did a back flip and dodged the kick he tried getting me with with his Time Skip. I then jumped back to get some distance between us.

"And I see you've adjusted to my Time Skip. All thanks to Goku, I'm guessing." Hit observed.

"Nope! I've studied you all on my own. Goku didn't give me any advice on how to deal with you, whatsoever." I replied.

"I see."

"Yep! So your tricks won't work on me either."

"Oh?"

"Mhm."

We then spent the next few minutes continuing our fight and occasionally testing new techniques on each other. I mostly did the testing, though. I just had a lot of things I needed to work and practice on.

"Sorry. I hope you don't mind me using this. I haven't quite mastered it yet." I said, holding up my energy sword. He just got in a ready fighting stance and stared back at me with a serious expression.

"Come." Was the only word he spoke. I rushed forward and struck in any way I could remember that felt right.

During our fight, I guess I accidentally slipped up and became distracted. Hit noticed right away and commented on me still being worried about Jiren.

"Uhm-… Y-yes, sorry. It's almost hard not to be. He hasn't made a single move since the tournament started and yet his energy is still the most intense one I can feel on this arena. Every part of it is incredibly unnerving…" I said. He didn't reply, but the look on his face basically told me that he didn't disagree with me.

It became quiet between us for a short while. The silence was soon broken by the sight of Vegeta rushing over to help Goku deal with a few warriors from Universe 9.

"Would you like to stop for now?" Hit asked. I averted my attention back over to him.

"Huh? Oh. No. No, of course not. I can still keep going." I replied before getting into a fighting stance.

"I want to. Unless…" I trailed off, lowering my arms a little. I hoped he understood what I was inferring.

He just calmly took his hands out of his pockets and got in his usual fighting stance. I couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on my face. A short couple seconds after and one displayed on his face.

We then continued our fight.

It didn't take long for Goku and Vegeta to defeat Universe 9 and send them all off the edge. Having a healer on the team meant they didn't need to hold back. So they didnt hesitate in going Super or even Blue. But the one thing that caught my attention was the outing of the first universe. It wasn't just me though. I could feel energies from all across the stage go silent.

"All members from the Nineth Universe have been thrown from the ring. Their team has been defeated. By the rules laid forth, Universe 9 of the cosmos will be obliterated at once." The Grand Priest announced.

My eyes locked onto the spectator seats where the Nineth Universe team sat. I was so paralyzed that I couldn't hear any of the voices around me.

~

After the announcement of Universe 9's imminent demise, fear crept into Shin's heart. He quickly got to his feet and called out to the pink Majin.

"Azaelia! Please, look away!" He shouted. But she showed no sign of budging. She was in earshot, but somehow still hadn't heard his plea.

"Azaelia! Azaelia, please! Don't look!" Shin yelled out. Still nothing. She was completely stuck.

He wasn't sure why he was so worried about having her watch a universe get erased. She'd watched Zamasu get sliced in half. In some ways, that was worse than what was about to happen. But he still couldn't help feeling what he was feeling.

Luckily for him, someone else heard his cry and was able to do what he couldn't.

~

Suddenly my vision grew dark.

"You have a strange compulsion when it comes to defying Gods."

Hit?

Wait, what? What did he mean by that?

"Grand Zenoo! Nooo!!" The cry of the Universe 9 Supreme Kai could be heard from every soul in the Null Realm.

"Bye-byyee!" The Grand Zeno's said happily before giggling.

I wasn't sure what covering my eyes would accomplish, but I still appreciated the gesture. I could still sense the Universe 9 team get completely erased, though. It wasn't anything like dying. With dying, the energy slowly comes to a complete stop and gradually goes out like a dying fire. Well, depending on the details of the death. But with this erasure, it was almost comparable to turning off the light in a room. Except… just a little more slower. It was hard to describe. I could feel their very beings slowly be torn apart, but in the time span of about 1 second.

It was one of the most terrifying things I ever experienced.

I couldn't form a single word. I was just in complete shock. The Omni Kings were truly Gods of all Gods. There wasn't anything in the whole multiverse that could have prepared me for this. I wasn't sure what to think at this point. This was just too much.

Hit had pulled his hand away from my eyes, but before he could bring it back to his side, I grabbed hold of it without even thinking. I shifted my body to the side so I could get a better look at it. I just held onto his hand and stared at it. I wasn't sure for how long, though. All I could think was… what I'd do if he got erased. The thought scared me. It scared me so much. I wanted to keep holding onto his hand. I was scared to let go. As if letting go meant I'd lose him forever.

Once it was announced that the Super Dragonballs were going to be the prize for the winning fighter, I decided to have my wish be to revive Universe 6 and 10. But that still didn't stop the fear inside of me from growing…

~

Hit watched as she continually stared at his hand. He wasn't sure what compelled him to cover her eyes in the first place. But the look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. In the end, he did nothing.

Based on what he learned about her, he knew there wasn't anyone else who could see things more clearer than she could. Sure, having such a keen sense was useful in almost every kind of situation, but based on what she's gone through in the last few minutes, he'd say it was more of a curse.

Hit shifted his view back up to where the Nineth Universe was just eliminated. He kept his eyes on the spot for a few seconds before averting his attention back to Azaelia. Before he could wake her from her state, a sudden approaching enemy beat him to it. Vegeta in his Super Saiyan form was approaching fast. Luckily, Botamo was close by enough to come and block his advance.

"You'll have to go through me first, tough guy." Botamo said confidently. He then turned his head to look back at Hit and Azaelia.

"I got him! Hurry up and go!" Botamo insisted.

"Thank you…" Azaelia managed to squeak out. She wasn't very pleased to be going against her teammate, but complied with Botamo's request anyway.

Hit and Azaelia then teleported away.

~

Shin sat there watching. That's all he could do. Watch.

Seeing the look on Azaelia's face created a feeling that he fought desperately to keep down. Gods were supposed to keep their composure. He tried, but it was obvious that he was struggling by the way he was forcefully gripping his pants.

Though Shin felt that the physical contact was… unnecessary? He was still glad Hit stepped in. He wanted nothing more than to take her away from all this. Or at least go down to the stage and comfort her. But he couldn't do any of that. All he could do was watch. And continue watching. Just sit and watch.

While the old Kai, Lord Beerus, and Whis were occupied with another fight, Shin kept his attention on the assassin and Majin.

The two talked for a short while. Although, Shin couldn't quite hear what they were saying to each other, he figured they formed an alliance based on the fact that after the talk they started fighting enemies together.

Azaelia still looked a little unnerved, but fighting seemed to help distract her. Shin felt a little relief, but it wasn't long until someone joined them up in the spectator seats and killed his improving mood.

~

"Krillin!" I yelled out. No… One fighter down already?

"Would you like to stop and go help your team?" Hit asked. I looked down at the ground with narrowed eyes before coming to a decision.

"No. It's fine. They can handle themselves. Although it doesn't please me to say this, Krillin isn't exactly one of our most powerful fighters." I replied as I looked back up at Hit. It was the hard truth, but even Krillin wasn't afraid to admit it. He may be clever, but when it came down to it, he lacked strength.

"Very well." Hit said. He didn't sound particularly happy, but he didn't sound annoyed either. He was so hard to read.

Earlier, when I asked if we could team up for awhile, he took a few silent seconds to think about it. His expression didn't change so I couldn't tell if he was opposed to the idea or not. He never gave me a direct answer either. I didn't want to impose on him, but… I didn't exactly want to leave his side. At least not yet. I was just glad he was putting up with me. He wasn't exactly the type to try to be polite. Though he was a man of few words, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind when necessary. So I guess that meant I was okay for now.

"Right." I replied. We then moved on to our next opponent, which happened to be the first one we took on together. I used my energy sword to cut off one of Narirama's arms while Hit used his Time-Skip to break off the other.

It took me a few tries to get used to going through Hit's Time-Skip with him. It made me dizzy each and every time, but this time I hardly felt anything at all. Not to mention having to use the small amount of time he skipped well. I considered myself pretty fast. At least compared to Vegeta and Goku. But with Hit, it was almost hard to keep up. I'm sure it was also because he was so used to using his ability.

I stood at Hit's side as I lowered my energy sword. Narirama fell onto one knee.

"This battle is as good as over, so we're going to give you a choice. You can either leave from the ring right now, or you'll be forced out." Hit offered in a threatening tone.

"Narirama!" The robot yelled out. It then opened up its chest to reveal an inner core that started collecting and preparing energy.

"He's all yours." Hit said. I replied with a nod.

"Canon charging complete! Nariii-!" It's voice stopped once Hit's Time-Skip was activated. I teleported over to the broken down robot and placed one finger on the giant marble the robot had for a face and tapped.

"-ramaaa!" The robot yelled out as it fired off its shot and fell from the arena.

It didn't feel very good outing someone. Regardless if they were a living organism or not. But no one here had much of a choice. This was survival.

Hit approached me and stood at my side. Hands in pockets and all.

"Hm. I'm sensing a strange presence here and it's not pleasant. I'm sure you can sense it as well." Hit said. I gave him a nod in response. I'm guessing he wasn't refering to Jiren.

"It's coming from one of your teammates. I sensed it when Cabba introduced me to the other two Saiyan's earlier. Would you like to go take a closer look?" I asked. Although it was true that the one called Kale had similar energy to a friend I had back home, her inner energy wasn't as closed up and hidden as Broly's. It was clear that she'd already unleashed her power already. I had to agree with Hit, though. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation.

I guess after a million years of living with Saiyan's, there were still things I didn't understand about them.

"No. Let's just move on." Hit replied.

"Okay." I said with a nod. We then turned around and took our leave.

I felt disappointment sink in. I had become incredibly curious and wanted to satisfy my need to investigate. But I wasn't too much of a let down. At least Hit wasn't trying to get rid of me just yet.


End file.
